About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, are not working
In Beauregard Parish, 28.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Beauregard Parish's score
In Beauregard Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 239 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 74.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Beauregard 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.
Beauregard Parish does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.7% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people239 · 202583rd percentile
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- 74.1 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 working28.5% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 65.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.9% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.4% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,555 · 202456th percentile
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- 29.3 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 rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202732nd 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 Beauregard 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 Beauregard Parish, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Beauregard Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Beauregard Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Beauregard Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.5% in 2010 to 15.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Beauregard Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.5%, with its low point on the chart in 2018
Low on the chart: 12.7% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.
How Beauregard Parish has changed
Beauregard Parish's population nearly doubled to 36,695, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 29,304. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Beauregard Parish rose by about a quarter to 8,985, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 8,412. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.4% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,099 | 2024 $64,555 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Beauregard Parish's history
1900
The longleaf pine was the primary tree used in the timber industry of the area. Wikipedia
1913
Parish formed January 1, 1913. Wikipedia
1996
Lightning in January 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lightning in July 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in March 2016 did $40 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in August 2017 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,549, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1983
41 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Beauregard Parish, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Beauregard Parish beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Beauregard Parish, in Louisiana and Texas, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Beauregard Parish ranks 4th of the six; Newton County is highest, at 34.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Parish, LA | 94 | 23.6% | 31.7% |
| Calcasieu Parish, LA | 86 | 15.5% | 23.8% |
| Vernon Parish, LA | 82 | 15.7% | 27.3% |
| Newton County, TX | 81 | 17.5% | 34.6% |
| Jefferson Davis Parish, LA | 71 | 17.8% | 30.2% |
| Beauregard Parish, LA | 70 | 15.1% | 28.5% |
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 Beauregard Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Beauregard Parish's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 56th 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, Beauregard Parish ranks 52nd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Beauregard 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 Beauregard 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 Beauregard Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.