About three in ten people with a credit file in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bossier Parish, 31.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bossier Parish's score
In Bossier Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 288.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 63.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bossier 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.
Bossier Parish does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.4%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a disability (15.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.1% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people288.9 · 202589th percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.4% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 61.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.0% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,234 · 202445th percentile
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- 55.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 54.6 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 rent24.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th 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 Bossier 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 Bossier Parish, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bossier Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bossier Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Bossier Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled 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 Bossier Parish getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 11.5% in 2019 to 9.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Bossier Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 10.6%
Low on the chart: 9.8% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bossier Parish, Louisiana.
How Bossier Parish has changed
Bossier Parish's population had its largest rise, from 115,187 in 2009 to 125,492 in 2014.
Bossier Parish's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 131,102, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 87,581. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bossier Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bossier Parish doubled to 45,299, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 31,169. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bossier Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,640 | 2024 $68,234 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Bossier Parish's history
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in December 1978 did $250 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
Hail in April 1995 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in April 1999 did $6.68 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 128,746, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
36 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bossier Parish, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bossier Parish beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Bossier Parish, in Louisiana and Arkansas, score higher than it does. Of the group, Bossier Parish gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bienville Parish gets the largest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Lafayette County, AR | 94 | 20.4% | 32.3% |
| Red River Parish, LA | 94 | 22.9% | 31.9% |
| 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 Bossier Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Bossier Parish's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 51st 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, Bossier Parish ranks 50th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bossier 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 Bossier 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 Bossier Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.