About one in three people with a credit file in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Martin Parish, 32.3% 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. Martin Parish's score
In St. Martin Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 82.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.7%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 77.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Martin 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. Martin Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (6.1%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.7% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.7% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 77.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people199.8 · 202574th percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 58.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.2% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,885 · 202449th percentile
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- 52.1 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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. Martin 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. Martin Parish, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Martin Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in St. Martin Parish had its largest rise, from 19.3% in 2014 to 26.1% in 2019.
In St. Martin Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Martin Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.1% in 2010 to 15.1% in 2011.
The share of households in St. Martin Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2013, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2013. 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. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Martin Parish has changed
St. Martin Parish's population had its largest rise, from 39,047 in 1979 to 45,157 in 1984.
St. Martin Parish's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 51,218
High on the chart: 52,744 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in St. Martin Parish fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 12,646 in 2015 to 11,096 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in St. Martin Parish rose 12% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 12,646 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.1% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,235 | 2024 $66,885 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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. Martin Parish's history
1811
Created in 1811 from parts of Attakapas Parish. Wikipedia
1860
Sugar cane was a major commodity crop before the American Civil War dependent on enslaved labor and continued to be important after. Wikipedia
1977
A tornado in April 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 52,160. The 2020 Census counted 51,767, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in April 2017 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
54 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Martin Parish, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Martin Parish beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border St. Martin Parish, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Martin Parish ranks 4th of the eight; St. Landry Parish is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Landry Parish, LA | 96 | 24.5% | 36.3% |
| St. Mary Parish, LA | 94 | 21.8% | 32.1% |
| Iberia Parish, LA | 93 | 22.6% | 32.2% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 84 | 17.2% | 26.0% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 80 | 21.5% | 26.8% |
| 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. Martin Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Martin Parish's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 50th 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. Martin Parish ranks 48th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Martin 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. Martin 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. Martin Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.