Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana
In LaSalle Parish, 35.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives LaSalle Parish's score
In LaSalle Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.5%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 83.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in LaSalle 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.
LaSalle Parish does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (9.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (3.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 83.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.9% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people250 · 202585th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.0% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.3% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,524 · 202465th percentile
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- 20.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 15.2 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 rent10.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th 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 LaSalle 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 LaSalle Parish, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
LaSalle Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in LaSalle Parish had its largest rise, from 23.4% in 1989 to 28.8% in 1994.
In LaSalle Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in LaSalle Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.3% in 2019 to 14.3% in 2020.
The share of households in LaSalle Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 16.7%
Low on the chart: 11.0% 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, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana.
How LaSalle Parish has changed
LaSalle Parish's population had its largest drop, from 16,447 in 1984 to 14,078 in 1989.
LaSalle Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 16,447 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in LaSalle Parish rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,744, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 4,777 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 18.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,256 | 2024 $61,524 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in LaSalle Parish's history
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 17,004. The 2020 Census counted 14,791, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1983
A tornado in May 1983 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in November 2004 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in April 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
38 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered LaSalle Parish, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
LaSalle Parish beside its neighbors
All six counties that border LaSalle Parish score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, LaSalle Parish ranks 4th of the seven; Catahoula Parish is highest, at 43.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 97 | 25.0% | 35.9% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 96 | 22.6% | 43.2% |
| Caldwell Parish, LA | 95 | 21.8% | 40.2% |
| 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 LaSalle Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, LaSalle Parish's poverty rate was 18.0% in 2024, 42nd 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, LaSalle Parish ranks 61st of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in LaSalle 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 LaSalle 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 LaSalle Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.