About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, are not working
In Concordia Parish, 39.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Concordia Parish's score
In Concordia Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 11.8%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 94.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Concordia 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.
Concordia Parish is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
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 behind11.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score62.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 94.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working39.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
- 88.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.7% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people226.1 · 202581st percentile
-
- 88.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line27.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line40.4% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability22.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,367 · 2024top 5%
-
- 81.1 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 rent23.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
-
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 Concordia 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 Concordia Parish, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Concordia Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Concordia Parish had its largest rise, from 30.0% in 2014 to 37.5% in 2019.
In Concordia Parish, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 40.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Concordia Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 40.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Concordia Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.8% in 2019 to 21.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Concordia Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2017, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 14.2% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Concordia Parish, Louisiana.
How Concordia Parish has changed
Concordia Parish's population fell by about a fifth to 17,797, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 23,440 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Concordia Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Concordia Parish had its largest drop, from 5,650 in 2015 to 5,182 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Concordia Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 5,693 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Concordia Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.8% | 2024 27.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,396 | 2024 $43,367 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Concordia Parish's history
1807
Parish formed in 1807. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 22,981. The 2020 Census counted 18,687, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
37 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Concordia Parish, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Concordia Parish beside its neighbors
Concordia Parish scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Louisiana and Mississippi. For the share of income from benefit checks, Concordia Parish ranks 3rd of the eight; Wilkinson County is highest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia Parish, LA | 99 | 27.7% | 40.9% |
| Wilkinson County, MS | 99 | 31.6% | 43.4% |
| Adams County, MS | 98 | 24.0% | 35.6% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 97 | 25.0% | 35.9% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 96 | 22.6% | 43.2% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 84 | 17.2% | 26.0% |
| West Feliciana Parish, LA | 52 | 23.3% | 20.9% |
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 Concordia Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Concordia Parish's poverty rate was 27.7% in 2024, 4th 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, Concordia Parish ranks 2nd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Concordia 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.
-
Acadiana Legal Service Corporation
Legal aid
-
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 Concordia 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 Concordia Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.