About one in three people with a credit file in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In West Baton Rouge Parish, 33.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives West Baton Rouge Parish's score
In West Baton Rouge Parish, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 73.7. People with a credit card behind: 8.0%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 69.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in West Baton Rouge 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.
West Baton Rouge Parish does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (14.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.7% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 69.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.7% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people138 · 202555th percentile
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- 53.1 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 52.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 36.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.0% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,550 · 202439th 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 West Baton Rouge 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 West Baton Rouge Parish, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
West Baton Rouge Parish
Louisiana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In West Baton Rouge Parish, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in West Baton Rouge Parish getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.8% in 2022 to 9.3% in 2023.
The share of households in West Baton Rouge Parish getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2023
Low on the chart: 9.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
How West Baton Rouge Parish has changed
West Baton Rouge Parish's population nearly doubled to 28,425, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 25,426. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
The number of jobs located in West Baton Rouge Parish made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 11,051 in 2010 to 13,367 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in West Baton Rouge Parish doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 13,324
High on the chart: 13,367 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,482 | 2024 $70,550 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in West Baton Rouge Parish's history
1807
Established March 31, 1807. Wikipedia
1865
Civil War devastated sugar industry in West Baton Rouge Parish, industry bankrupted by war's end. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in June 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in June 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,199, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in May 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A thunderstorm in May 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
38 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered West Baton Rouge Parish, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
West Baton Rouge Parish beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border West Baton Rouge Parish, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, West Baton Rouge Parish ranks 4th of the six; East Feliciana Parish is highest, at 31.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 85 | 22.2% | 18.9% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 84 | 17.2% | 26.0% |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 80 | 21.5% | 26.8% |
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 64 | 18.4% | 31.7% |
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 60 | 12.1% | 21.0% |
| West Feliciana Parish, LA | 52 | 23.3% | 20.9% |
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 West Baton Rouge Parish the poorest county in Louisiana?
No, West Baton Rouge Parish's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 62nd 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, West Baton Rouge Parish ranks 57th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in West Baton Rouge 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 West Baton Rouge 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 West Baton Rouge Parish comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.