About one in four people in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Iberia Parish, 22.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iberia Parish's score
In Iberia Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 86.6. About one in three people with a credit file (36.4%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 82.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iberia 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.
Iberia Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.4% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people245.3 · 202584th percentile
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- 82.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 76.8 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 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 75.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.6% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line35.1% · 202496th percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,127 · 202486th percentile
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- 70.7 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 rent22.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th 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 Iberia 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 Iberia Parish, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iberia Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iberia Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Iberia Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iberia Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.1% in 2019 to 22.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Iberia Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2015, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 19.1% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
How Iberia Parish has changed
Iberia Parish's population had its largest rise, from 63,417 in 1979 to 69,314 in 1984.
Iberia Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 73,825 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Iberia Parish had its largest drop, from 30,545 in 2015 to 24,267 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Iberia Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 31,715 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.8% | 2024 22.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,511 | 2024 $53,127 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Iberia Parish's history
1889
Wakefield family fled to New Orleans after son was lynched. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 73,266. The 2020 Census counted 69,929, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in January 2007 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in January 2013 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $40 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
43 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iberia Parish, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iberia Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Iberia Parish, one scores higher. Of the group, Iberia Parish gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Parish, LA | 94 | 21.8% | 32.1% |
| Iberia Parish, LA | 93 | 22.6% | 32.2% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 80 | 21.5% | 26.8% |
| St. Martin Parish, LA | 77 | 16.7% | 29.2% |
| Vermilion Parish, LA | 73 | 22.4% | 28.2% |
| Lafayette Parish, LA | 64 | 16.5% | 18.8% |
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 Iberia Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Iberia Parish's poverty rate was 22.6% in 2024, 20th 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, Iberia Parish ranks 25th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iberia 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 Iberia 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 Iberia Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.