About three in ten people with a credit file in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Livingston Parish, 30.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Livingston Parish's score
In Livingston Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 77.8. People with a credit card behind: 8.2%, August 2025, higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 71.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Livingston 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.
Livingston Parish does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.0%, fiscal year 2027) and median household income ($76,462, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.1% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 71.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.5% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people175.2 · 202568th percentile
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- 49.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.2% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,462 · 202426th percentile
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- 39.2 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 rent19.2% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202722nd 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 Livingston 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 Livingston Parish, 13.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Livingston Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Livingston Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Livingston Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Livingston Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.4% in 2017 to 13.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Livingston Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 13.0%
Low on the chart: 11.6% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
How Livingston Parish has changed
Livingston Parish's population had its largest rise, from 106,048 in 2004 to 126,230 in 2009.
Livingston Parish's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 152,886, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 69,914. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Livingston Parish had its largest rise, from 15,203 in 2000 to 19,638 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Livingston Parish grew to about four times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 31,287, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 27,849. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,772 | 2024 $76,462 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Livingston Parish's history
1915
Livingston established as company town by Lyon Lumber Company in 1915, northern terminus of logging railroad. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in February 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
Train derailment spilled about 200,000 gallons of chemicals in Livingston in 1982. Wikipedia
1983
A tornado in August 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
2016 Louisiana floods destroyed 75% of homes in Livingston Parish. Wikipedia
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $576 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $1.34 billion in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 142,282, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
52 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Livingston Parish, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Livingston Parish beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Livingston Parish, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Livingston Parish ranks 4th of the six; St. Helena Parish is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, LA | 98 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 95 | 20.8% | 31.4% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 93 | 19.4% | 29.8% |
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 85 | 22.2% | 18.9% |
| Livingston Parish, LA | 58 | 12.2% | 21.5% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 34 | 9.5% | 16.6% |
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 Livingston Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Livingston Parish's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 61st 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, Livingston Parish ranks 59th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Livingston 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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Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
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 Livingston 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 Livingston Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.