About one in four people in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In St. Landry Parish, 24.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Landry Parish's score
In St. Landry Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.1. People with a credit card behind: 9.2%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 87.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Landry 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. Landry Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.0% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.9% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 87.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.7% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 81.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.7% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people198.9 · 202574th percentile
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- 76.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.5% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.0% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,897 · 202494th percentile
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- 69.8 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 rent22.2% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202765th 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. Landry 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. Landry Parish, 16.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Landry Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Landry Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Landry Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.1% in 2021 to 20.6% in 2022.
The share of households in St. Landry Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 21.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 16.9% in 2020. 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. Landry Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Landry Parish has changed
St. Landry Parish's population had its largest drop, from 87,024 in 1984 to 81,557 in 1989.
St. Landry Parish's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 87,034 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Landry Parish rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 23,882, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 24,402 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.5% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.6% | 2024 24.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,527 | 2024 $47,897 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in St. Landry Parish's history
1807
St. Landry Parish was established in 1807. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in April 1952 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in November 1957 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 87,700. The 2020 Census counted 82,540, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flood in January 2013 did $41.57 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
46 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Landry Parish, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Landry Parish beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border St. Landry Parish, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Landry Parish ranks 2nd of the seven; Evangeline Parish is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 97 | 25.0% | 35.9% |
| St. Landry Parish, LA | 96 | 24.5% | 36.3% |
| Evangeline Parish, LA | 92 | 25.9% | 37.6% |
| Acadia Parish, LA | 85 | 20.9% | 32.0% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 84 | 17.2% | 26.0% |
| St. Martin Parish, LA | 77 | 16.7% | 29.2% |
| Lafayette Parish, LA | 64 | 16.5% | 18.8% |
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. Landry Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Landry Parish's poverty rate was 24.5% in 2024, 15th 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. Landry Parish ranks 16th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Landry 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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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 St. Landry 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. Landry Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.