#311 Top 500 Most Distressed Counties · 2026

Assumption Parish, Louisiana

74.9 · high county distress 311th of 3,144 counties nationally · 20,160 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
9% Assumption Parish residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Above the national median for credit card delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 40 words · paste-ready

Assumption Parish, Louisiana ranks 311th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

Key Findings
  • 311th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 74.9 · high county distress, 34th in Louisiana.
  • 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 93rd percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Unemployment at 4% — national median 4%, ranked at the 75th percentile. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 29% — national median 18%, ranked at the 96th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Child poverty rate at 27% — national median 18%, ranked at the 84th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023).
Distinctive Signals
Labor–Credit Divergence

Unemployment is 4%, near the national median of 4%, while credit card delinquency runs at the 93rd percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.

Boundary Signal

Neighbors span three CDI score labels. The 29-point drop to Ascension Parish marks where the Louisiana distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Assumption Parish, Louisiana and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Assumption Parish and its 8 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Assumption Parish ranks 311th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 20 words

Assumption Parish has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 32 words

The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

4.7% -2.0 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

20.1% -4.4 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

23.3% +11.5 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

34.5% -6.6 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Assumption Parish's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Assumption Parish's value shown alongside LA's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Assumption Parish's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Assumption Parish LA median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 88 · Rank 297 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 8% 8% 5% 84th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 9% 8% 5% 93rd Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 35% 35% 23% 87th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 67 · Rank 859 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 34% 34% 23% 84th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 124 225 126 49th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 74 · Rank 590 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 21% 22% 21% 52nd HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 29% 21% 18% 96th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 75 · Rank 745 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 4% 5% 4% 75th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 71 · Rank 768 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 27% 28% 18% 84th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 17% 17% 16% 60th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 18% 20% 14% 79th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 9% 8% 8% 56th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 88
Weight 20% · Rank 297 of 3,144
Labor 75
Weight 20% · Rank 745 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 74
Weight 20% · Rank 590 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 71
Weight 20% · Rank 768 of 3,144
Default & Legal 67
Weight 20% · Rank 859 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Assumption Parish data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 132-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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NAPOLEONVILLE, La. — Assumption Parish ranks 311th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 74.9 out of 100 gives Assumption Parish a high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 310 counties rank more distressed. Within Louisiana, Assumption Parish ranks 34th of 64 parishes.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Assumption Parish. 9% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Assumption Parish's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Assumption Parish scores 74.9 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label high county distress. It ranks 311th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 34th of 64 Louisiana parishes. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Assumption Parish's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 88. Credit card delinquency ranks at the 93rd percentile nationally.

How does Assumption Parish compare to its neighbors?

Assumption Parish's neighbors span three CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Iberia Parish (78.03, high county distress). Lowest: Ascension Parish (49.21, moderate-low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

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