About one in four people with a credit file in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Charles Parish, 26.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 60% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Charles Parish's score
In St. Charles Parish, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 75.4. About two in five renters (38.6%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 67.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Charles 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.
St. Charles Parish does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($85,615, 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (17.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent38.6% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.1% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195.6 · 202573rd percentile
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- 64.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.2% · second quarter of 202650th percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.0% · 202449th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,615 · 202413th percentile
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- 38.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.7% · 2020 to 202431st 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 St. Charles 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 St. Charles Parish, 15.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Charles Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Charles Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Charles Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.2% in 2010 to 8.6% in 2011.
The share of households in St. Charles Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2011
Low on the chart: 8.6% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Charles Parish has changed
St. Charles Parish's population had its largest rise, from 32,384 in 1974 to 36,707 in 1979.
St. Charles Parish's population doubled from 1969 to 2019, reaching 52,652, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 52,719 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in St. Charles Parish had its largest drop, from 26,762 in 2015 to 22,627 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in St. Charles Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 26,762 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,367 | 2024 $85,615 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 St. Charles Parish's history
1807
Established in 1807 following the Louisiana Purchase. Wikipedia
1811
German Coast uprising. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 52,780. The 2020 Census counted 52,549, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in December 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $52.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
52 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Charles Parish, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Charles Parish beside its neighbors
All three counties that border St. Charles Parish score higher than it does. Of the group, St. Charles Parish gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; St. John the Baptist Parish gets the largest, at 29.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, LA | 98 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| Jefferson Parish, LA | 87 | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Lafourche Parish, LA | 62 | 14.8% | 21.3% |
| St. Charles Parish, LA | 61 | 12.3% | 19.8% |
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 St. Charles Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Charles Parish's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 60th 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, St. Charles Parish ranks 56th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Charles 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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Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
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 St. Charles 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 St. Charles Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.