St. James Parish, Louisiana

County Distress Index: Normal · 43.0 | 19,191 people · 62nd most distressed in Louisiana

Behind on your mortgage or facing eviction? Take a 2-minute assessment to see your options.

St. James Parish, LA falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 43.0 — 2145th 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 62nd of 64 counties. Among its 4 neighboring counties, 3 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. St. James Parish's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 83.1 — worse than roughly 83% of U.S. counties.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 83.1
Debt in Collections 81
Medical Debt 77
Student Loan Delinquency 95
Auto Loan Delinquency 94
Credit Card Delinquency 70
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 83
Income & Poverty 50.6
Poverty Rate 62
Income vs. State Median 16
Child Poverty Rate 73
Employment & Wages 34.5
Unemployment Rate 76
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 5
Business Formation Rate 22
Community Vulnerability 27.2
Uninsured Rate 37
Disability Rate 17
Housing Cost Burden 19.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 14
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 60
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 7
Homeownership Rate 5
Rent-to-Income Ratio 13

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

Neighbors and Peers

How St. James Parish compares to its 4 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. St. James Parish
St. James Parish, LA 43.0 Normal
Assumption Parish, LA 60.0 Elevated +16.9
St. John the Baptist Parish, LA 55.9 Elevated +12.9
Lafourche Parish, LA 53.0 Elevated +9.9
Ascension Parish, LA 33.8 Healthy -9.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. St. James Parish
Ellis County, KS 43.0 Normal -0.0
Green Lake County, WI 43.1 Normal +0.0
Dawson County, GA 43.0 Normal -0.1
Box Butte County, NE 42.9 Normal -0.1
Nobles County, MN 43.2 Normal +0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for St. James Parish as a CSV file.

Find Help in St. James Parish

Find an Attorney

Louisiana State Bar Association Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving St. James Parish residents at no cost.

American Default Research does not endorse, rate, or rank any provider. Verify attorney credentials with your state bar.