In Cameron Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Cameron Parish, 16.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cameron Parish's score
In Cameron Parish, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 57.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 28.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cameron 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.
Cameron Parish isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.2% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people125.8 · 202549th percentile
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- 53.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.7% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 39.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.8% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 37.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.9% · 202447th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.2% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance2.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,218 · 202435th percentile
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- 28.6 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 rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202747th 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 Cameron 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 Cameron Parish, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cameron Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cameron Parish had its largest rise, from 10.8% in 1989 to 15.3% in 1994.
In Cameron Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Cameron Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cameron Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.6% in 2010 to 9.1% in 2011.
The share of households in Cameron Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.6%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 5.9% 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, Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
How Cameron Parish has changed
Cameron Parish's population had its largest drop, from 9,851 in 2004 to 6,930 in 2009.
Cameron Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about half
High on the chart: 10,171 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Cameron Parish had its largest rise, from 2,770 in 2010 to 7,194 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Cameron Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 36% since
High on the chart: 7,194 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 12.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,468 | 2024 $72,218 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Cameron Parish's history
1870
Founded in 1870. Wikipedia
1901
First successful oil well in Louisiana in 1901. Wikipedia
1957
Hurricane Audrey nearly destroyed Cameron in 1957, killing more than 300 residents. Wikipedia
1962
A tornado in August 1962 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
A tornado in October 1970 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 9,991. The 2020 Census counted 5,617, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
Lightning in July 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
39 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cameron Parish, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cameron Parish beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Cameron Parish, in Louisiana and Texas, score higher than it does. Of the group, Cameron Parish gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Jefferson Davis Parish gets the largest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | 94 | 21.3% | 26.6% |
| Calcasieu Parish, LA | 86 | 15.5% | 23.8% |
| Orange County, TX | 82 | 13.8% | 26.4% |
| Vermilion Parish, LA | 73 | 22.4% | 28.2% |
| Jefferson Davis Parish, LA | 71 | 17.8% | 30.2% |
| 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 Cameron Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Cameron Parish's poverty rate was 12.9% in 2024, 59th 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, Cameron Parish ranks 63rd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cameron 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 Cameron 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 Cameron Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.