About one in four people with a credit file in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Tammany Parish, 25.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 56% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Tammany Parish's score
In St. Tammany Parish, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 66.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 204.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 75% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 59.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Tammany 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. Tammany Parish does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($84,478, 2024) and children below the poverty line (11.8%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.0% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people204.3 · 202575th percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.2% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 55.5 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 rent22.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
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- 30.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.8% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$84,478 · 202414th 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. Tammany 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. Tammany Parish, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Tammany Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in St. Tammany Parish rose most from 11.6% in 2014 to 17.2% in 2024, 2.8 points each step.
In St. Tammany Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Tammany Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.6% in 2010 to 9.4% in 2011.
The share of households in St. Tammany Parish getting SNAP food aid fell by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.0%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 6.9% 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. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.
How St. Tammany Parish has changed
St. Tammany Parish's population had its largest rise, from 74,681 in 1974 to 103,823 in 1979.
St. Tammany Parish's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 277,615, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 142,930. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in St. Tammany Parish had its largest rise in the last span, from 85,881 in 2020 to 97,985 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in St. Tammany Parish tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 97,985, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 85,881. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,727 | 2024 $84,478 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in St. Tammany Parish's history
1810
Founded October 27, 1810. Wikipedia
1987
A thunderstorm in July 1987 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A thunderstorm in December 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A thunderstorm in August 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A thunderstorm in June 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 264,570, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
50 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Tammany Parish, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Tammany Parish beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border St. Tammany Parish, in Louisiana and Mississippi, score higher than it does. Of the group, St. Tammany Parish gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Washington Parish gets the largest, at 41.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, LA | 98 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| Orleans Parish, LA | 96 | 21.3% | 19.8% |
| Washington Parish, LA | 94 | 25.6% | 41.4% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 93 | 19.4% | 29.8% |
| Jefferson Parish, LA | 87 | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Pearl River County, MS | 76 | 16.5% | 30.2% |
| Hancock County, MS | 69 | 16.5% | 28.2% |
| St. Tammany Parish, LA | 50 | 10.2% | 17.2% |
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. Tammany Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, St. Tammany Parish's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 63rd 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. Tammany Parish ranks 62nd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Tammany 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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Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
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. Tammany 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. Tammany Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.