About one in five people in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In East Baton Rouge Parish, 22.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives East Baton Rouge Parish's score
In East Baton Rouge Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.1%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 76.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in East Baton Rouge 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.
East Baton Rouge Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (14.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.1% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.9% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 76.5 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 rent28.4% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 70.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.2% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134.7 · 202553rd percentile
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- 65.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.2% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.0% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,198 · 202457th percentile
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- 56.8 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 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th 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 East Baton Rouge 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 East Baton Rouge Parish, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
East Baton Rouge Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in East Baton Rouge Parish rose most in two steps: 10.5% in 1989 to 13.2% in 1994; 13.6% in 2004 to 16.3% in 2009.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.9%; 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 East Baton Rouge Parish getting SNAP food aid rose to 15.9%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
Low on the chart: 13.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
How East Baton Rouge Parish has changed
East Baton Rouge Parish's population had its largest rise, from 317,286 in 1974 to 358,763 in 1979.
East Baton Rouge Parish's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 453,022
High on the chart: 456,581 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in East Baton Rouge Parish rose 42% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 219,576. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 22.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,185 | 2024 $64,198 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 East Baton Rouge Parish's history
2001
A tornado in June 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $722 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $1.68 billion in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 456,781, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
47 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered East Baton Rouge Parish, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
East Baton Rouge Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border East Baton Rouge Parish, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, East Baton Rouge Parish ranks 6th of the seven; East Feliciana Parish is highest, at 31.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 95 | 20.8% | 31.4% |
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 85 | 22.2% | 18.9% |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 80 | 21.5% | 26.8% |
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 64 | 18.4% | 31.7% |
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 60 | 12.1% | 21.0% |
| Livingston Parish, LA | 58 | 12.2% | 21.5% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 34 | 9.5% | 16.6% |
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 East Baton Rouge Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, East Baton Rouge Parish's poverty rate was 22.2% in 2024, 23rd 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, East Baton Rouge Parish ranks 38th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in East Baton Rouge 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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Mid City Redevelopment Alliance
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
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 East Baton Rouge 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 East Baton Rouge Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.