About one in four people in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Avoyelles Parish, 25.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Avoyelles Parish's score
In Avoyelles Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.7. About one in three people with a credit file (36.5%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Avoyelles 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.
Avoyelles Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.5% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people260.4 · 202586th percentile
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- 85.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.0% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.6% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability24.6% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,439 · 202496th percentile
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- 82.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.4% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 80.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.9% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 79.1 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 rent23.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.8% · fiscal year 202777th 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 Avoyelles 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 Avoyelles Parish, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Avoyelles Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Avoyelles Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Avoyelles Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.2% in 2021 to 25.8% in 2022.
The share of households in Avoyelles Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 27.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2019
Low on the chart: 18.9% 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, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
How Avoyelles Parish has changed
Avoyelles Parish's population had its largest drop, from 42,243 in 1984 to 39,688 in 1989.
Avoyelles Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 42,243 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Avoyelles Parish rose most sharply from its first year (7,895 in 1990) to 10,371 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Avoyelles Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 11,141 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.8% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.6% | 2024 25.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,109 | 2024 $45,439 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Avoyelles Parish's history
1807
The parish was created in 1807 from the name deriving from the French name for the historic Avoyel people, one of the local Indian tribes at the time of European encounter. Wikipedia
1927
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built levee system after Great Flood of 1927. Wikipedia
1983
A tornado in January 1983 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 42,073. The 2020 Census counted 39,693, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flood in January 2013 did $18.99 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in January 2017 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Avoyelles Parish, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Avoyelles Parish beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Avoyelles Parish, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Avoyelles Parish ranks 5th of the nine; Catahoula Parish is highest, at 43.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia Parish, LA | 99 | 27.7% | 40.9% |
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 97 | 25.0% | 35.9% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 96 | 22.6% | 43.2% |
| St. Landry Parish, LA | 96 | 24.5% | 36.3% |
| Evangeline Parish, LA | 92 | 25.9% | 37.6% |
| Rapides Parish, LA | 90 | 18.8% | 30.9% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 84 | 17.2% | 26.0% |
| West Feliciana Parish, LA | 52 | 23.3% | 20.9% |
| LaSalle Parish, LA | 52 | 18.0% | 35.7% |
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 Avoyelles Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Avoyelles Parish's poverty rate was 25.0% in 2024, 14th 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, Avoyelles Parish ranks 12th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Avoyelles 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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Acadiana Legal Service Corporation
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 Avoyelles 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 Avoyelles Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.