About one in three people with a credit file in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tangipahoa Parish, 35.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tangipahoa Parish's score
In Tangipahoa Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.3. People with a credit card behind: 8.6%, August 2025, higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 79.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tangipahoa 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.
Tangipahoa Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.7% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 79.0 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 rent25.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 79.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.5% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people184 · 202570th percentile
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- 76.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.5% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability21.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,775 · 202476th percentile
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- 74.2 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 working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th 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 Tangipahoa 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 Tangipahoa Parish, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tangipahoa Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tangipahoa Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tangipahoa Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 20.8% in 2019 to 18.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Tangipahoa Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 18.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
How Tangipahoa Parish has changed
Tangipahoa Parish's population doubled to 139,823, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 120,009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Tangipahoa Parish had its largest rise, from 22,332 in 1990 to 29,302 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Tangipahoa Parish doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 47,216, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 41,745. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.4% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.2% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,192 | 2024 $57,775 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Tangipahoa Parish's history
1869
Tangipahoa Parish was created by Louisiana Act 85 on March 6, 1869, during the Reconstruction era from territories of Livingston Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Tammany Parish, and Washington Parish. Wikipedia
1963
Gullet Gin Company closed in 1963 after wartime conversion and post-war decline. Wikipedia
2012
Lightning in April 2012 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $629 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $315 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in August 2016 did $105 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 133,157, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
48 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tangipahoa Parish, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tangipahoa Parish beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Tangipahoa Parish, in Louisiana and Mississippi, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tangipahoa Parish ranks 6th of the eight; Washington Parish is highest, at 41.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, LA | 98 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| Pike County, MS | 98 | 21.4% | 39.1% |
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 95 | 20.8% | 31.4% |
| Washington Parish, LA | 94 | 25.6% | 41.4% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 93 | 19.4% | 29.8% |
| Amite County, MS | 91 | 22.0% | 34.6% |
| Livingston Parish, LA | 58 | 12.2% | 21.5% |
| 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 Tangipahoa Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Tangipahoa Parish's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 37th 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, Tangipahoa Parish ranks 24th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tangipahoa 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 Tangipahoa 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 Tangipahoa Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.