About one in five people in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Ouachita Parish, 19.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ouachita Parish's score
In Ouachita Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 89.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 495.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 86.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ouachita 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.
Ouachita Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (15.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.4% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people495.7 · 202598th percentile
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- 86.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.7% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 72.8 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 rent31.0% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.6% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.0% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,701 · 202471st percentile
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- 64.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202660th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.8% · 2020 to 202467th 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 Ouachita 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 Ouachita Parish, 15.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ouachita Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ouachita Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ouachita Parish getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2023 high, from 18.4% in 2022 to 19.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Ouachita Parish getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 19.8%
High on the chart: 19.9% 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, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.
How Ouachita Parish has changed
Ouachita Parish's population had its largest rise, from 125,368 in 1974 to 137,021 in 1979.
Ouachita Parish's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 160,439 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ouachita Parish rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 69,886, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 71,046 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.7% | 2024 19.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,070 | 2024 $59,701 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Ouachita Parish's history
1807
The parish was formed in 1807. Wikipedia
2011
A flash flood in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in March 2016 did $35 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 160,368, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
A tornado in April 2020 did $250 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
44 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ouachita Parish, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ouachita Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Ouachita Parish, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ouachita Parish ranks 6th of the seven; Morehouse Parish is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morehouse Parish, LA | 98 | 28.5% | 43.7% |
| Richland Parish, LA | 96 | 26.4% | 38.2% |
| Caldwell Parish, LA | 95 | 21.8% | 40.2% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | 90 | 19.6% | 29.1% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | 87 | 25.5% | 24.0% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
| Jackson Parish, LA | 84 | 17.8% | 36.3% |
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 Ouachita Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Ouachita Parish's poverty rate was 19.6% in 2024, 36th 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, Ouachita Parish ranks 29th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ouachita 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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Mount Pleasant Community Development Corp. Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Ouachita 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 Ouachita Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.