About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Webster Parish, Louisiana, is not working
In Webster Parish, 35.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Webster Parish's score
In Webster Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.8. About three in five people (58.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Webster 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.
Webster Parish does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (5.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.9% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.5% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 91.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.2% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people343.4 · 202593rd percentile
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- 88.2 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 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.0% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
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- 80.8 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 rent27.1% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 71.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.7% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.1% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,578 · 202493rd 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 Webster 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 Webster Parish, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Webster Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Webster Parish, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Webster Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.6%; 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 Webster Parish getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 27.0%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 27.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Webster Parish, Louisiana.
How Webster Parish has changed
Webster Parish's population had its largest rise, from 40,701 in 1974 to 43,523 in 1979.
Webster Parish's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 44,580 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Webster Parish, Louisiana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Webster Parish fell 8% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 13,021 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Webster Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.3% | 2024 20.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,529 | 2024 $48,578 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Webster Parish's history
1871
Established on February 27, 1871 from lands formerly belonging to Bienville, Bossier, and Claiborne parishes. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in December 1978 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 43,631. The 2020 Census counted 36,967, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in May 2021 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
37 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Webster Parish, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Webster Parish beside its neighbors
Webster Parish scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Louisiana and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Webster Parish ranks 3rd of the six; Bienville Parish is highest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Parish, LA | 98 | 26.6% | 36.6% |
| Webster Parish, LA | 98 | 20.7% | 33.6% |
| Bienville Parish, LA | 95 | 25.8% | 41.9% |
| Lafayette County, AR | 94 | 20.4% | 32.3% |
| Columbia County, AR | 87 | 20.4% | 32.2% |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 73 | 16.5% | 23.3% |
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 Webster Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, Webster Parish's poverty rate was 20.7% in 2024, 33rd 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, Webster Parish ranks 7th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Webster 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 Webster 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 Webster Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.