About three in ten people in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, live below the poverty line
In Morehouse Parish, 28.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Morehouse Parish's score
In Morehouse Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 580.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Morehouse 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.
Morehouse Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (5.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.3% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people580.3 · 202599th percentile
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- 93.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.3% · second quarter of 202696th percentile
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- 92.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.9% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
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- 77.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.5% · 202497th percentile
- Children below the poverty line51.4% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,435 · 202496th percentile
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- 76.7 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 rent23.1% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th 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 Morehouse 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 Morehouse Parish, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Morehouse Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Morehouse Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 43.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Morehouse Parish getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2018 low, from 20.1% in 2018 to 22.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Morehouse Parish getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 30.0%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 20.1% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.
How Morehouse Parish has changed
Morehouse Parish's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 25,995 in 2019 to 23,787 in 2024.
Morehouse Parish's population fell by about a quarter to 23,787, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 34,602 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Morehouse Parish had its largest drop, from 8,647 in 2000 to 7,457 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Morehouse Parish was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 8,980 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.6% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.3% | 2024 28.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,746 | 2024 $45,435 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Morehouse Parish's history
1844
Morehouse Parish was formed in 1844. Wikipedia
1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 caused damage, Bastrop was site of relief camp for refugees. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 34,803. The 2020 Census counted 25,629, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1983
A tornado in April 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A thunderstorm in March 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
International Paper Company, largest area employer, ceased operations of Bastrop mill in 2008. Wikipedia
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Pilgrim's Pride poultry processor closed multiple facilities in the area in 2009. Wikipedia
2019
A flood in April 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Morehouse Parish, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Morehouse Parish beside its neighbors
Morehouse Parish scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Louisiana and Arkansas. Of the group, Morehouse Parish gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morehouse Parish, LA | 98 | 28.5% | 43.7% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Ashley County, AR | 96 | 19.0% | 39.3% |
| Richland Parish, LA | 96 | 26.4% | 38.2% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | 90 | 19.6% | 29.1% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
| West Carroll Parish, LA | 81 | 19.1% | 43.5% |
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 Morehouse Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Morehouse Parish's poverty rate was 28.5% in 2024, 3rd 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, Morehouse Parish ranks 4th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Morehouse 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 Morehouse 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 Morehouse Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.