About one in three people in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, has a disability
In St. Helena Parish, 33.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Helena Parish's score
In St. Helena Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 12.7%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Helena 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. Helena Parish does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (6.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.7% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.6% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score60.6% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 81.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.8% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.8% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability33.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,931 · 202493rd percentile
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- 71.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector43.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people120.7 · 202547th percentile
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- 58.3 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.2% · fiscal year 202793rd 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. Helena 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. Helena Parish, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Helena Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Helena Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Helena Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 22.7% in 2012 to 29.3% in 2013.
The share of households in St. Helena Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 22.6% 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. Helena Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Helena Parish has changed
St. Helena Parish's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 2004 and 2009
High on the chart: 11,154 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Helena Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Helena Parish rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 1,619 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Helena Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 6.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.1% | 2024 20.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,401 | 2024 $48,931 |
The table uses 6.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.6% 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 St. Helena Parish's history
1810
Created in 1810 from West Florida, when the Territory of Orleans was organized. Wikipedia
1983
A tornado in May 1983 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in November 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 11,203. The 2020 Census counted 10,920, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $22.6 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
39 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Helena Parish, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Helena Parish beside its neighbors
St. Helena Parish scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Louisiana and Mississippi. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Helena Parish ranks 3rd of the six; Amite County is highest, at 34.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 95 | 20.8% | 31.4% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 93 | 19.4% | 29.8% |
| Amite County, MS | 91 | 22.0% | 34.6% |
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 85 | 22.2% | 18.9% |
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 64 | 18.4% | 31.7% |
| Livingston Parish, LA | 58 | 12.2% | 21.5% |
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 St. Helena Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Helena Parish's poverty rate was 20.8% in 2024, 32nd 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. Helena Parish ranks 19th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Helena 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. Helena 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. Helena Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.