About one in five people in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Assumption Parish, 20.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Assumption Parish's score
In Assumption Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.9. People with a credit card behind: 9.4%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 70.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Assumption Parish: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Assumption Parish does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.9%, fiscal year 2027) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (124, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 70.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.6% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,636 · 202462nd percentile
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- 66.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.3% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people124 · 202548th percentile
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- 65.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
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- 58.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent29.1% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Assumption Parish comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Assumption Parish, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Assumption Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Assumption Parish made its largest gain on the way to its 1994 high, from 17.7% in 1989 to 24.5% in 1994.
In Assumption Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Assumption Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Assumption Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 23.0% in 2009 to 19.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Assumption Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 19.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2019
Low on the chart: 14.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Assumption Parish, Louisiana.
How Assumption Parish has changed
Assumption Parish's population had its largest rise, from 21,741 in 1979 to 23,534 in 1984.
Assumption Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 23,534 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Assumption Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Assumption Parish had its largest drop, from 4,216 in 2015 to 3,508 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Assumption Parish fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,011, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 3,508 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Assumption Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.5% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,258 | 2024 $62,636 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Assumption Parish's history
1807
Established in 1807 as the eighth parish of the Orleans Territory. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 24,128. The 2020 Census counted 21,039, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
2002
A tornado in October 2002 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Lightning in September 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
49 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Assumption Parish, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Assumption Parish beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Assumption Parish, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Assumption Parish ranks 6th of the nine; Iberia Parish is highest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Parish, LA | 94 | 21.8% | 32.1% |
| Iberia Parish, LA | 93 | 22.6% | 32.2% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 80 | 21.5% | 26.8% |
| Terrebonne Parish, LA | 79 | 18.0% | 27.3% |
| St. James Parish, LA | 77 | 15.7% | 22.2% |
| St. Martin Parish, LA | 77 | 16.7% | 29.2% |
| Lafourche Parish, LA | 62 | 14.8% | 21.3% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 34 | 9.5% | 16.6% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Assumption Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Assumption Parish's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 35th highest of 64 in Louisiana (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is East Carroll Parish, at 44.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Assumption Parish ranks 41st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Assumption Parish
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Assumption Parish · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Assumption Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.