About two in five people with a credit file in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In De Soto Parish, 37.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives De Soto Parish's score
In De Soto Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 92.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 372.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 88.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in De Soto 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.
De Soto Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.3% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people372.5 · 202595th percentile
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- 88.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.2% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.0% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.2% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,865 · 202473rd percentile
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- 42.9 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th 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 De Soto 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 De Soto Parish, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
De Soto Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In De Soto Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In De Soto Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in De Soto Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.6% in 2012 to 18.6% in 2013.
The share of households in De Soto Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 20.1%
Low on the chart: 14.9% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, De Soto Parish, Louisiana.
How De Soto Parish has changed
De Soto Parish's population rose by about a fifth to 27,274, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 25,338. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, De Soto Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in De Soto Parish nearly doubled to 8,406, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 8,406. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, De Soto Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.6% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.8% | 2024 17.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,897 | 2024 $58,865 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 De Soto Parish's history
1843
Formed in 1843. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 31,803. The 2020 Census counted 26,812, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in May 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A thunderstorm in August 1993 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in May 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1991
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered De Soto Parish, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
De Soto Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border De Soto Parish, in Louisiana and Texas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, De Soto Parish ranks 4th of the seven; Sabine Parish is highest, at 34.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Natchitoches Parish, LA | 97 | 26.9% | 29.9% |
| Red River Parish, LA | 94 | 22.9% | 31.9% |
| De Soto Parish, LA | 87 | 17.0% | 27.9% |
| Sabine Parish, LA | 86 | 21.0% | 34.8% |
| Shelby County, TX | 83 | 16.2% | 23.9% |
| 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 De Soto Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, De Soto Parish's poverty rate was 17.0% in 2024, 49th 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, De Soto Parish ranks 31st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in De Soto 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 De Soto 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 De Soto Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.