About one in four people in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Claiborne Parish, 26.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Claiborne Parish's score
In Claiborne Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 11.9%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 94.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Claiborne 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.
Claiborne Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (3.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.0% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 94.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 89.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.7% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people329.2 · 202593rd percentile
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- 79.5 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 rent25.9% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line33.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.3% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance3.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,962 · 2024top 5%
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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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne Parish, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Claiborne Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Claiborne Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.6%; 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 Claiborne Parish getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 33.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 33.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.
How Claiborne Parish has changed
Claiborne Parish's population had its largest drop, from 17,230 in 2009 to 15,808 in 2014.
Claiborne Parish's population fell by about a fifth to 13,537, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 18,264 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Claiborne Parish had its largest drop, from 3,509 in 2015 to 3,025 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Claiborne Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,361 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 6.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.0% | 2024 26.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,883 | 2024 $46,962 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Claiborne Parish's history
1921
Oil discovered. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 32,285. The 2020 Census counted 14,170, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A thunderstorm in December 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in January 2005 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 did $5.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Claiborne Parish, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Claiborne Parish beside its neighbors
Claiborne Parish scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Louisiana and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Claiborne Parish ranks 2nd of the seven; Bienville Parish is highest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Union County, AR | 89 | 16.8% | 28.2% |
| Columbia County, AR | 87 | 20.4% | 32.2% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | 87 | 25.5% | 24.0% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
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 Claiborne Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Claiborne Parish's poverty rate was 26.6% in 2024, 7th 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, Claiborne Parish ranks 6th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Claiborne 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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.