About one in six people in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, lives below the poverty line
In Terrebonne Parish, 18.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Terrebonne Parish's score
In Terrebonne Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.9%, August 2025, higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 79.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Terrebonne 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.
Terrebonne Parish does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 79.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.5% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people223.9 · 202580th percentile
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- 66.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.0% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.7% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,990 · 202464th percentile
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- 58.8 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 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 51.8 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 rent17.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th 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 Terrebonne 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 Terrebonne Parish, 15.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Terrebonne Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Terrebonne Parish, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Terrebonne Parish getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16.3%, with most of the change between 2010 and 2011
Low on the chart: 15.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
How Terrebonne Parish has changed
Terrebonne Parish's population had its largest rise, from 81,936 in 1974 to 93,157 in 1979.
Terrebonne Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 113,340 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in Terrebonne Parish had its largest drop, from 56,645 in 2015 to 46,314 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Terrebonne Parish was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 56,645 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.6% | 2024 18.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,411 | 2024 $61,990 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Terrebonne Parish's history
1999
Lightning in July 1999 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A waterspout in March 2000 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in March 2000 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 111,860. The 2020 Census counted 109,580, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
53 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Terrebonne Parish, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Terrebonne Parish beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Terrebonne Parish, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Terrebonne Parish ranks 2nd of the four; St. Mary Parish is highest, at 32.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Parish, LA | 94 | 21.8% | 32.1% |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 82 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
| Terrebonne Parish, LA | 79 | 18.0% | 27.3% |
| Lafourche Parish, LA | 62 | 14.8% | 21.3% |
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 Terrebonne Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Terrebonne Parish's poverty rate was 18.0% in 2024, 42nd 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, Terrebonne Parish ranks 45th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Terrebonne 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 Terrebonne 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 Terrebonne Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.