About two in five people with a credit file in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Mary Parish, 38.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Mary Parish's score
In St. Mary Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.1. People with a credit card behind: 8.9%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 83.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Mary 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. Mary Parish is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.4% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.6% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 83.4 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 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 78.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.8% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.0% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,405 · 202493rd percentile
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- 75.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.8% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people146.6 · 202558th percentile
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- 71.5 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 rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202782nd 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. Mary 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. Mary Parish, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Mary Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Mary Parish, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 32.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Mary Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 19.0% in 2020 to 22.3% in 2021.
The share of households in St. Mary Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 22.8%, with its low point on the chart in 2018
Low on the chart: 17.8% in 2018. 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. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Mary Parish has changed
St. Mary Parish's population had its largest drop, from 64,231 in 1984 to 58,481 in 1989.
St. Mary Parish's population fell by about a quarter to 46,799, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 64,275 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Mary Parish fell by about a quarter to 19,370, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 26,879 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.4% | 2024 21.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,995 | 2024 $48,405 |
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. Mary Parish's history
1811
The parish was created in 1811. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in April 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 64,253. The 2020 Census counted 49,406, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A thunderstorm in August 1998 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
49 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Mary Parish, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Mary Parish beside its neighbors
St. Mary Parish scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Mary Parish ranks 2nd of the five; Iberia Parish is highest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Parish, LA | 94 | 21.8% | 32.1% |
| Iberia Parish, LA | 93 | 22.6% | 32.2% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| Terrebonne Parish, LA | 79 | 18.0% | 27.3% |
| St. Martin Parish, LA | 77 | 16.7% | 29.2% |
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. Mary Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Mary Parish's poverty rate was 21.8% in 2024, 25th 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. Mary Parish ranks 20th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Mary 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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Saint Mary Community Action Agency, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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. Mary 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. Mary Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.