About one in three people with a credit file in St. James Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. James Parish, 32.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. James Parish's score
In St. James Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 234.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 79.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. James 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. James Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (11.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (4.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.6 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 people234.5 · 202582nd percentile
-
- 79.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.9% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
-
- 68.2 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 rent26.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
-
- 61.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
-
- 41.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.7% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,241 · 202442nd percentile
-
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. James 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. James Parish, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. James Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. James Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In St. James Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. James Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.5% in 2012 to 16.4% in 2013.
The share of households in St. James Parish getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 13.1% in 2022. 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. James Parish, Louisiana.
How St. James Parish has changed
St. James Parish's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 20,480 in 2019 to 19,110 in 2024.
St. James Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 22,231 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. James Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. James Parish fell 5% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 8,244 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. James Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 15.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,274 | 2024 $69,241 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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. James Parish's history
1764
First documented Acadian arrival and settlement. Wikipedia
1807
Created March 31, 1807 as one of the state's original parishes. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 23,009. The 2020 Census counted 20,192, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
EF-3 tornado causing 2 deaths and dozens of injuries. Wikipedia
2016
A tornado in February 2016 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in February 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 did $18 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
44 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. James Parish, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. James Parish beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border St. James Parish, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. James Parish ranks 3rd of the five; St. John the Baptist Parish is highest, at 29.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, LA | 98 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| St. James Parish, LA | 77 | 15.7% | 22.2% |
| Lafourche Parish, LA | 62 | 14.8% | 21.3% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 34 | 9.5% | 16.6% |
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. James Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. James Parish's poverty rate was 15.7% in 2024, 53rd 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. James Parish ranks 47th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. James 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.
-
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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. James 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. James Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.