About two in five people with a credit file in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Caddo Parish, 39.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Caddo Parish's score
In Caddo Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 364 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Caddo 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.
Caddo Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.7% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people364 · 202594th percentile
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- 93.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.2% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.2% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 84.9 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 rent28.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 78.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.1% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.1% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,110 · 202486th percentile
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- 72.7 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 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.2% · 2020 to 202482nd 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 Caddo 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 Caddo Parish, 18.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Caddo Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Caddo Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Caddo Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Caddo Parish getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 21.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2020, reaching 18.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
How Caddo Parish has changed
Caddo Parish's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 239,920 in 2019 to 224,893 in 2024.
Caddo Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 261,282 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Caddo Parish fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 115,651 in 2015 to 103,628 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Caddo Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 122,621 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.4% | 2024 22.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,002 | 2024 $53,110 |
The table uses 4.4% 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 Caddo Parish's history
1930
1930-1968: United Gas Corporation, nation's busiest pipeline operator and integrated oil company, headquartered in Shreveport; acquired by Pennzoil hostile takeover in 1968. Wikipedia
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
1980s: Oil and gas industry suffered large economic downturn, severely affecting regional economy; many companies cut back jobs or went out of business. Wikipedia
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
Hail in April 1995 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 254,969. The 2020 Census counted 237,848, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
August 2012: General Motors Shreveport Operations plant permanently closed; had produced Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Hummer H3, Isuzu i-Series. Wikipedia
2023
A tornado in March 2023 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Caddo Parish, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Caddo Parish beside its neighbors
Caddo Parish scores higher than all eight counties that border it, in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Caddo Parish ranks 7th of the nine; Marion County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Red River Parish, LA | 94 | 22.9% | 31.9% |
| Marion County, TX | 92 | 21.0% | 41.2% |
| De Soto Parish, LA | 87 | 17.0% | 27.9% |
| Cass County, TX | 86 | 16.5% | 38.3% |
| Harrison County, TX | 75 | 14.5% | 25.0% |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 73 | 16.5% | 23.3% |
| Panola County, TX | 65 | 13.3% | 26.1% |
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 Caddo Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Caddo Parish's poverty rate was 22.1% in 2024, 24th 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, Caddo Parish ranks 8th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Caddo 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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Catholic Charities of North Louisiana
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
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 Caddo Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.