About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Union Parish, Louisiana, is not working
In Union Parish, 34.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union Parish's score
In Union Parish, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 88.4. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 87.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union Parish does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (5.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment 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 working34.1% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
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- 87.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.6% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people595.6 · 202599th percentile
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- 76.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.1% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,865 · 202482nd percentile
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- 59.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.4% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 48.7 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th 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 Union 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 Union Parish, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union Parish, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Union Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.0%; 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 Union Parish getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 20.4%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2021, reaching 18.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union Parish, Louisiana.
How Union Parish has changed
Union Parish's population had its largest rise, from 19,233 in 1974 to 20,625 in 1979.
Union Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 22,737 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Union Parish rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 5,513, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 5,908 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.5% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,079 | 2024 $54,865 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Union Parish's history
1839
The parish was created on March 13, 1839, from a section of Ouachita Parish. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 22,803. The 2020 Census counted 21,107, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2018
A thunderstorm in July 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in August 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in April 2019 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
36 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union Parish, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union Parish beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Union Parish, in Louisiana and Arkansas, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union Parish ranks 4th of the seven; Morehouse Parish is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morehouse Parish, LA | 98 | 28.5% | 43.7% |
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Ashley County, AR | 96 | 19.0% | 39.3% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | 90 | 19.6% | 29.1% |
| Union County, AR | 89 | 16.8% | 28.2% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | 87 | 25.5% | 24.0% |
| Union Parish, LA | 86 | 20.3% | 36.0% |
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 Union Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Union Parish's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 34th 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, Union Parish ranks 34th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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.
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 Union Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.