About one in four people in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Natchitoches Parish, 26.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Natchitoches Parish's score
In Natchitoches Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.4%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Natchitoches 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.
Natchitoches Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.4% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.0% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 88.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.1% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people294.8 · 202590th percentile
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- 86.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 78.0 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 rent27.9% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 75.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.9% · 202497th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.3% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,814 · 202493rd 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 Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches Parish, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Natchitoches Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Natchitoches Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Natchitoches Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 26.8% in 2021 to 21.7% in 2022.
The share of households in Natchitoches Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 19.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.
How Natchitoches Parish has changed
Natchitoches Parish's population rose most sharply from its first year (35,151 in 1969) to 37,492 in 1974.
Natchitoches Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 39,679 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Natchitoches Parish rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 14,060, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 14,351 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.8% | 2024 26.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,924 | 2024 $48,814 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Natchitoches Parish's history
1805
Parish created April 10, 1805, when the Territory of Orleans was divided into 12 parishes. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 40,997. The 2020 Census counted 37,515, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
1976
A tornado in April 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in February 1998 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in March 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
39 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Natchitoches Parish, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Natchitoches Parish beside its neighbors
Natchitoches Parish scores higher than all eight counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Natchitoches Parish ranks 7th of the nine; Bienville Parish is highest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natchitoches Parish, LA | 97 | 26.9% | 29.9% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Red River Parish, LA | 94 | 22.9% | 31.9% |
| Winn Parish, LA | 92 | 23.7% | 32.8% |
| Rapides Parish, LA | 90 | 18.8% | 30.9% |
| De Soto Parish, LA | 87 | 17.0% | 27.9% |
| Sabine Parish, LA | 86 | 21.0% | 34.8% |
| Vernon Parish, LA | 82 | 15.7% | 27.3% |
| Grant Parish, LA | 79 | 21.1% | 33.7% |
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 Natchitoches Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Natchitoches Parish's poverty rate was 26.9% in 2024, 6th 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, Natchitoches Parish ranks 9th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.