About one in four people in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Lincoln Parish, 25.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln Parish's score
In Lincoln Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 308.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 75.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (11.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (5.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.2% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people308.6 · 202591st percentile
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- 75.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.2% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 72.9 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 rent36.1% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 68.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
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- 62.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.5% · 202496th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.2% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,669 · 202487th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln Parish, 14.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lincoln Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 19.1% in 2023 to 23.9% in 2024.
The share of households in Lincoln Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2021, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.
How Lincoln Parish has changed
Lincoln Parish's population had its largest rise, from 33,528 in 1969 to 37,168 in 1974.
Lincoln Parish's population rose 44% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 48,479 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln Parish rose by about a third to 19,084, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 17,469. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.5% | 2024 25.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,188 | 2024 $52,669 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Lincoln Parish's history
1873
Created on February 24, 1873, from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes. Wikipedia
1996
A tornado in November 1996 did $2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in March 2016 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in April 2019 did $50 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 48,396, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln Parish, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln Parish beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lincoln Parish, three score higher. Of the group, Lincoln Parish gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bienville Parish gets the largest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | 90 | 19.6% | 29.1% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | 87 | 25.5% | 24.0% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
| Jackson Parish, LA | 84 | 17.8% | 36.3% |
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 Lincoln Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Lincoln Parish's poverty rate was 25.5% in 2024, 13th 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, Lincoln Parish ranks 33rd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.