About three in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, are not working
In Tensas Parish, 58.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tensas Parish's score
In Tensas Parish, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 7.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 94.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tensas 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.
Tensas Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.6%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working58.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 94.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.2% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people371.9 · 2025top 5%
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- 87.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score63.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 78.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line27.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line48.4% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability20.5% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,583 · 2024top 5%
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- 61.9 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.7% · fiscal year 202792nd 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 Tensas 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 Tensas Parish, 28.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tensas Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tensas Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Tensas Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tensas Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.7% in 2018 to 26.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Tensas Parish getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2014, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tensas Parish, Louisiana.
How Tensas Parish has changed
Tensas Parish's population had its largest drop, from 9,850 in 1969 to 8,768 in 1974.
Tensas Parish's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 3,844, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1994 to 1999, reaching 6,717. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tensas Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Tensas Parish had its largest drop, from 1,853 in 2000 to 1,471 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Tensas Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 57% since
High on the chart: 1,853 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tensas Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 7.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 47.4% | 2024 27.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,450 | 2024 $38,583 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Tensas Parish's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 19,070. The 2020 Census counted 4,147, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tensas Parish, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tensas Parish beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Tensas Parish, in Louisiana and Mississippi, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tensas Parish ranks 7th of the nine; Claiborne County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia Parish, LA | 99 | 27.7% | 40.9% |
| Madison Parish, LA | 99 | 33.3% | 41.5% |
| Adams County, MS | 98 | 24.0% | 35.6% |
| Claiborne County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Jefferson County, MS | 97 | 30.5% | 42.7% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 96 | 22.6% | 43.2% |
| Franklin Parish, LA | 92 | 25.8% | 44.3% |
| Warren County, MS | 88 | 18.8% | 28.2% |
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 Tensas Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Tensas Parish's poverty rate was 27.4% in 2024, 5th 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, Tensas Parish ranks 10th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tensas 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 Tensas 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 Tensas Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.