Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

County Distress Index: Elevated · 64.2 | 157,568 people · 26th most distressed in Louisiana

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Ouachita Parish, LA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 64.2 — 548th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within Louisiana, it ranks 26th of 64 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Ouachita Parish's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 84.1 — worse than roughly 84% of U.S. counties.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 84.1
Debt in Collections 80
Medical Debt 59
Student Loan Delinquency 96
Auto Loan Delinquency 86
Credit Card Delinquency 84
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 98
Income & Poverty 76.8
Poverty Rate 90
Income vs. State Median 51
Child Poverty Rate 90
Housing Cost Burden 76.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 97
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 98
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 24
Homeownership Rate 93
Rent-to-Income Ratio 69
Community Vulnerability 44.2
Uninsured Rate 50
Disability Rate 38
Employment & Wages 39.5
Unemployment Rate 58
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 47
Business Formation Rate 14

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Ouachita Parish compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Ouachita Parish
Ouachita Parish, LA 64.2 Elevated
Morehouse Parish, LA 70.3 Serious +6.1
Richland Parish, LA 67.4 Serious +3.2
Caldwell Parish, LA 63.4 Elevated -0.8
Jackson Parish, LA 60.7 Elevated -3.5
Union Parish, LA 59.7 Elevated -4.5
Lincoln Parish, LA 59.6 Elevated -4.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Ouachita Parish
Vigo County, IN 64.2 Elevated 0.0
Humboldt County, CA 64.2 Elevated +0.0
Athens County, OH 64.3 Elevated +0.1
Hampton city, VA 64.3 Elevated +0.1
Yuma County, AZ 64.0 Elevated -0.2

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