About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Madison Parish, Louisiana, are not working
In Madison Parish, 44.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Madison Parish's score
In Madison Parish, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 6.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 94.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Madison 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.
Madison Parish does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working44.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 94.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.6% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people335.3 · 202593rd percentile
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- 93.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score69.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 86.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line33.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line49.2% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability22.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,406 · 2024top 5%
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- 70.0 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.2% · fiscal year 202790th 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 Madison 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 Madison Parish, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Madison Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Madison Parish had its largest rise, from 30.3% in 2014 to 38.1% in 2019.
In Madison Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 41.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Madison Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Madison Parish getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2020 high, from 30.7% in 2020 to 24.1% in 2021.
The share of households in Madison Parish getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 30.4%
High on the chart: 30.7% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Madison Parish, Louisiana.
How Madison Parish has changed
Madison Parish's population fell 40% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 12,890. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Madison Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Madison Parish rose most sharply from its first year (2,658 in 1990) to 3,597 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Madison Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,876 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Madison Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.4% | 2025 7.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 49.1% | 2024 33.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $11,913 | 2024 $39,406 |
The table uses 7.1% for 2025; the score uses 6.4% 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 Madison Parish's history
1838
Created January 19, 1838 from part of Concordia Parish. Wikipedia
1920
Early 1920s: USDA laboratory and airfield near Tallulah hosted crop-dusting experiments against boll weevil. Wikipedia
1927
1927 Great Mississippi Flood: downtown Tallulah flooded several feet, stores damaged, slow recovery. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 18,443. The 2020 Census counted 10,017, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
A tornado in February 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 11 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1983
A tornado in April 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in April 2010 did $35 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Madison Parish, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Madison Parish beside its neighbors
Madison Parish scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Louisiana and Mississippi. For the share of income from benefit checks, Madison Parish ranks 3rd of the six; East Carroll Parish is highest, at 45.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carroll Parish, LA | 99 | 44.4% | 45.3% |
| Madison Parish, LA | 99 | 33.3% | 41.5% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Richland Parish, LA | 96 | 26.4% | 38.2% |
| Franklin Parish, LA | 92 | 25.8% | 44.3% |
| Warren County, MS | 88 | 18.8% | 28.2% |
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 Madison Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Madison Parish's poverty rate was 33.3% in 2024, 2nd 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, Madison Parish ranks 3rd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.