About one in five people in Grant Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Grant Parish, 21.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant Parish's score
In Grant Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 273.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 79.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant Parish does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.9% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people273.8 · 202588th percentile
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- 79.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.8% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 72.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.1% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability20.5% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,672 · 202476th percentile
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- 69.2 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 working27.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 31.3 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 rent10.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th 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 Grant 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 Grant Parish, 15.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grant Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 33.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Grant Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant Parish getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 15.2% in 2010 to 17.3% in 2011; 18.3% in 2018 to 20.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Grant Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 18.5%
Low on the chart: 15.2% 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, Grant Parish, Louisiana.
How Grant Parish has changed
Grant Parish's population had its largest rise, from 19,878 in 2004 to 22,069 in 2009.
Grant Parish's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22,109
High on the chart: 22,327 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Grant Parish had its largest rise, from 3,127 in 2005 to 3,359 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Grant Parish rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,411
High on the chart: 3,456 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.0% | 2024 21.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,782 | 2024 $57,672 |
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 Grant Parish's history
1869
Founded March 4, 1869, the day of President Grant's first inauguration, as one of several new parishes created by the Reconstruction legislature. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
Explosives and munitions waste facility opened in Colfax in 1985, only commercial facility without emissions controls. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 22,309. The 2020 Census counted 22,169, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
37 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant Parish, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant Parish beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Grant Parish, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant Parish ranks 2nd of the five; LaSalle Parish is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natchitoches Parish, LA | 97 | 26.9% | 29.9% |
| Winn Parish, LA | 92 | 23.7% | 32.8% |
| Rapides Parish, LA | 90 | 18.8% | 30.9% |
| Grant Parish, LA | 79 | 21.1% | 33.7% |
| LaSalle Parish, LA | 52 | 18.0% | 35.7% |
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 Grant Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Grant Parish's poverty rate was 21.1% in 2024, 29th 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, Grant Parish ranks 46th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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.
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 Grant Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.