About two in five people with a credit file in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Calcasieu Parish, 38.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calcasieu Parish's score
In Calcasieu Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 84.3. Late payments on loans come next, at 80.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calcasieu 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.
Calcasieu Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.4% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people207.6 · 202576th percentile
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- 80.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.7% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 78.2 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 rent27.4% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd percentile
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- 63.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 53.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.5% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.6% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,871 · 202449th 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 Calcasieu 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 Calcasieu Parish, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calcasieu Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calcasieu Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calcasieu Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 22.4% in 2010 to 17.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Calcasieu Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2019
Low on the chart: 13.1% 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, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
How Calcasieu Parish has changed
Calcasieu Parish's population had its largest rise, from 202,235 in 2014 to 216,213 in 2019.
Calcasieu Parish's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2019, reaching 216,213, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 216,213 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Calcasieu Parish had its largest rise, from 65,666 in 1990 to 75,415 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Calcasieu Parish rose 36% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 91,808 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 15.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,814 | 2024 $66,871 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Calcasieu Parish's history
1840
Calcasieu Parish was created March 24, 1840, from the parish of Saint Landry. Wikipedia
1991
Naval Station Lake Charles proposed 1985, recommended closure 1988 BRAC, dropped 1991. Wikipedia
2016
A flood in March 2016 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in August 2017 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
Hail in May 2019 did $36 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 216,785, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in May 2021 did $500 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
41 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calcasieu Parish, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calcasieu Parish beside its neighbors
Calcasieu Parish scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Louisiana and Texas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calcasieu Parish ranks 5th of the six; Newton County is highest, at 34.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcasieu Parish, LA | 86 | 15.5% | 23.8% |
| Orange County, TX | 82 | 13.8% | 26.4% |
| 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% |
| Cameron Parish, LA | 38 | 12.9% | 16.0% |
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 Calcasieu Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Calcasieu Parish's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 55th 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, Calcasieu Parish ranks 36th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calcasieu 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 Calcasieu 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 Calcasieu Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.