About one in four people in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Evangeline Parish, 25.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Evangeline Parish's score
In Evangeline Parish, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.1. Housing costs come next, at 80.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Evangeline 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.
Evangeline 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.
- 85.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.9% · 202496th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.2% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability21.3% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,327 · 202496th percentile
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- 80.4 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 rent25.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 75.4 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 working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 72.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.2% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.5% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 70.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people154.3 · 202561st 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 Evangeline 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 Evangeline Parish, 16.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Evangeline Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Evangeline Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 37.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Evangeline Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 28.1% in 2023 to 31.2% in 2024.
The share of households in Evangeline Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2018, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 21.1% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.
How Evangeline Parish has changed
Evangeline Parish's population had its largest rise, from 33,109 in 1979 to 34,841 in 1984.
Evangeline Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 35,396 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Evangeline Parish rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 8,023, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 8,231 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.6% | 2024 25.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,311 | 2024 $46,327 |
The table uses 4.8% 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 Evangeline Parish's history
1910
Created in 1910 from lands formerly belonging to St. Landry Parish. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 35,434. The 2020 Census counted 32,350, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
2002
A tornado in October 2002 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in September 2008 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in January 2013 did $14.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Evangeline Parish, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Evangeline Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Evangeline Parish, three score higher. Of the group, Evangeline Parish gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (37.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 97 | 25.0% | 35.9% |
| St. Landry Parish, LA | 96 | 24.5% | 36.3% |
| Allen Parish, LA | 94 | 23.6% | 31.7% |
| Evangeline Parish, LA | 92 | 25.9% | 37.6% |
| Rapides Parish, LA | 90 | 18.8% | 30.9% |
| Acadia Parish, LA | 85 | 20.9% | 32.0% |
| Jefferson Davis Parish, LA | 71 | 17.8% | 30.2% |
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 Evangeline Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Evangeline Parish's poverty rate was 25.9% in 2024, 9th 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, Evangeline Parish ranks 28th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Evangeline 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 Evangeline 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 Evangeline Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.