About one in four people in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Bienville Parish, 25.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bienville Parish's score
In Bienville Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 92.5. About two in five people with a credit file (39.0%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 92% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 91.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bienville 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.
Bienville Parish does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people315.4 · 202592nd percentile
-
- 91.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.5% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
-
- 88.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 81.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line35.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,072 · 2024top 5%
-
- 52.1 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 rent14.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.8% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
-
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 Bienville 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 Bienville Parish, 21.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bienville Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bienville Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 41.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Bienville Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bienville Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.6% in 2017 to 24.9% in 2018.
The share of households in Bienville Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 22.9%
Low on the chart: 19.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
How Bienville Parish has changed
Bienville Parish's population had its largest drop, from 15,813 in 1999 to 15,017 in 2004.
Bienville Parish's population fell by about a quarter to 12,412, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 16,510 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bienville Parish rose 4% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,289 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.8% | 2024 25.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,532 | 2024 $45,072 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 5.5% 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 Bienville Parish's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 23,933. The 2020 Census counted 12,981, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in May 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in October 2009 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in March 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bienville Parish, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bienville Parish beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Bienville Parish, three score higher. Of the group, Bienville Parish gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (41.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| Natchitoches Parish, LA | 97 | 26.9% | 29.9% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Red River Parish, LA | 94 | 22.9% | 31.9% |
| Winn Parish, LA | 92 | 23.7% | 32.8% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | 87 | 25.5% | 24.0% |
| Jackson Parish, LA | 84 | 17.8% | 36.3% |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 73 | 16.5% | 23.3% |
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 Bienville Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Bienville Parish's poverty rate was 25.8% in 2024, 10th 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, Bienville Parish ranks 17th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bienville 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.
-
Acadiana Legal Service Corporation
Legal aid
-
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 Bienville 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 Bienville Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.