In Franklin Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 44 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin Parish's score
In Franklin Parish, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 90.7. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (32.4%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Franklin Parish does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 88.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.2% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people445.9 · 2025top 5%
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- 81.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.6% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 80.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line39.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability18.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,022 · 2024top 5%
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- 46.2 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 rent10.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.3% · fiscal year 202780th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin Parish, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin Parish, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Louisiana
In Franklin Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.0% in 2011 to 28.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Franklin Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 24.5%
Low on the chart: 20.7% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin Parish, Louisiana.
How Franklin Parish has changed
Franklin Parish's population fell by about a fifth to 19,107, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 22,678. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Franklin Parish rose most sharply from its first year (4,584 in 1990) to 6,833 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Franklin Parish was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 6,833 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 36.7% | 2024 25.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,594 | 2024 $44,022 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Franklin Parish's history
1843
1843, from portions of Ouachita, Catahoula, and Madison parishes. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 32,382. The 2020 Census counted 19,774, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in May 1980 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in October 2006 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in November 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin Parish, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin Parish beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Franklin Parish score higher than it does. Of the group, Franklin Parish gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (44.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Parish, LA | 99 | 33.3% | 41.5% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 96 | 22.6% | 43.2% |
| Richland Parish, LA | 96 | 26.4% | 38.2% |
| Caldwell Parish, LA | 95 | 21.8% | 40.2% |
| Franklin Parish, LA | 92 | 25.8% | 44.3% |
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 Franklin Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Franklin Parish's poverty rate was 25.8% in 2024, 10th 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, Franklin Parish ranks 26th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.