Louisiana

How Louisiana ranks among the states

Louisiana ranks 1st of the 50 states and D.C. on financial distress, though its households don’t owe much. Louisianans carried $48,250 in household debt per person with a credit report at the end of 2025, the 10th lowest of the 50 states and D.C., against $63,200 nationwide (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Yet in early 2025, 2.5% of the state’s mortgage borrowers were 90 or more days behind, the highest share of any state, and 20.1% of Louisianans had a debt in collections, the 2nd highest share (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia).

Which way it’s heading

Is Louisiana losing people?

Slowly over the decade, though it has grown a little in each of the last two years. Louisiana had 4,618,189 residents in 2025, fewer than at its peak of 4,681,346 in 2016 (Census Bureau). Its population fell 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, the 3rd largest drop of the 50 states and D.C. It dipped to 4,598,777 in 2023 and has risen since. We don’t track why people move.

Louisiana parish map: the poorest and most distressed parishes

Louisiana has 64 parishes. East Carroll Parish, in the northeast corner on the Mississippi River, is both the poorest and the most distressed. In 2024, 44.4% of its residents lived in poverty and the typical household earned $36,713, both the worst in Louisiana (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our County Distress Index, which scores every U.S. county and parish on household financial distress, East Carroll ranks first in Louisiana and 13th of 3,144 nationwide. Ascension Parish, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is the least distressed. Sites that use the Census Bureau’s other survey, the American Community Survey averaged over five years, name Madison Parish as the poorest instead.

Every parish, by score

Of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, 44 score 80 or more, and together they hold 67.0% of Louisianans. Orleans Parish (New Orleans) ranks 14th in the state, Caddo (Shreveport) 8th and East Baton Rouge 38th. Louisiana parishes make up 12 of the 100 most distressed counties in the country. None scores below 30.

All 64 Louisiana parishes, ranked →

Is Louisiana the poorest state?

By the poverty rate, yes. In 2024, 18.6% of Louisianans lived in poverty, the highest share of any state, against 12.1% nationwide (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By income, two states rank lower: the typical Louisiana household earned $61,038, the 3rd lowest of the 50 states and D.C. One in four Louisiana children lived in poverty.

What changed in Louisiana in the past year

1. Oct. 1, 2026

   States pay more of SNAP’s cost

   Under the federal budget law Congress passed in July 2025, states now pay 75% of the cost of running SNAP, up from half. From October 2027, states with high error rates may also have to pay part of the benefits. The drop in Louisianans getting SNAP came before this change: by June 2026, about a fifth fewer were getting it than a year earlier, and children made up 82,064 of the drop. The state puts about 75% of case closures down to paperwork (see the numbers).

   Verite News, via WWNO, Oct. 9, 2026; Louisiana Illuminator, via KALB, Aug. 6, 2026

2. Sept. 21, 2026

   More money for storm-resistant roofs as insurance rate increases slow

   State officials announced $100 million in all for grants that help homeowners put on fortified roofs, built to resist storms, with about 5,000 more grants before the end of the year. Average homeowners insurance rate increases have slowed each year, from 16.2% in 2022 to 4.3% in 2025. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said that “for the first time in five years” some companies are cutting property rates, and that people still tell him coverage is unaffordable.

   WAFB, Sept. 22, 2026; LiveInsuranceNews, July 13, 2026

3. June 2026

   An aluminum plant in Delhi will close

   Hydro notified the state that it will close its aluminum extrusion plant in Delhi, in Richland Parish, cutting 226 jobs. Layoffs take effect March 31, 2027.

   alcircle, July 16, 2026

4. Apr. 15, 2026

   Regulators fast-track power plants for a Meta data center

   The Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to fast-track Entergy Louisiana’s request to build seven gas power plants for a second Meta data center in Richland Parish, without competitive bidding. A final vote was requested for Nov. 18. In June, commission staff found that Entergy’s proposed purchase of a gas plant in Texas could add up to about $7 a month to the bill of a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours. Bills haven’t moved much yet: in the commission’s own comparison, that customer paid $139.67 in August 2026, against $139.03 a year earlier.

   WWNO, Apr. 21, 2026; Utility Dive, July 30, 2026; Louisiana Public Service Commission bill comparisons, August 2026 and August 2025

5. February 2026

   Winter storm aid for north Louisiana parishes

   After Winter Storm Fern, a federal disaster declaration covered debris removal and emergency work by local governments, not aid to households, in nine north Louisiana parishes, including East Carroll, Morehouse and Tensas, three of the state’s 11 most distressed.

   KTAL, via Yahoo News, Feb. 19, 2026

6. Jan. 1, 2026

   Larger federal health plan credits end

   The larger federal tax credits for marketplace health plans expired after Dec. 31, 2025. Enrollment in Louisiana’s marketplace fell 26% from 2025 to 2026, nearly 70,000 fewer people, tied with Mississippi for one of the largest drops of any state, a KFF analysis found.

   Stateline, via The Lens, July 31, 2026

How many Louisianans are behind on their bills?

More than in almost any other state. In early 2025, 24.5% of Louisianans had a debt 90 or more days late, the 2nd highest share of the 50 states and D.C., against 17.2% for the U.S. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). The national figure is our population-weighted average of the states. It isn’t a state of large debts: per person, Louisianans owe less than people in most states (see how Louisiana ranks). This is household debt, not state government debt.

Louisianans are more likely than Americans overall to be behind on mortgages, cards and car loans, and to have a debt in collections

Share of borrowers 90 or more days past due, and share of people with a debt in collections, first quarter of 2025

People with a debt in collections

La. 20.1% U.S. 13.2%

Card borrowers 90+ days late

La. 18.6% U.S. 13.5%

Auto borrowers 90+ days late

La. 12.0% U.S. 8.5%

Mortgage borrowers 90+ days late

La. 2.5% U.S. 1.2%

Ranks among the 50 states and D.C., 1 = highest share: mortgage 1st, collections 2nd, card 2nd, auto 5th. The U.S. figure is our population-weighted average of the states.

The share of Louisianans with a debt in collections was higher at the end of 2019: 30.5%. Part of the fall since then reflects what credit reports count, not fewer Louisianans struggling to pay. In 2022, the three big credit bureaus said they would stop reporting certain medical debts. Nationwide, the share of people with a medical collection on their credit record fell from about 14% in March 2022 to about 5% in June 2023 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, April 2024).

Homeowners with little cushion

More Louisiana mortgages are in early trouble too: 3.5% were 30 to 89 days late in September 2025, the 2nd highest share of any state, against 1.6% nationwide (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). And in the second quarter of 2026, 6.8% of mortgages had less than 10% equity, against 4.7% nationwide (Federal Housing Finance Agency). Equity is what the home is worth minus what’s owed on it. A homeowner with little equity has less room to sell and pay off the loan if payments fall behind.

How is Louisiana’s economy doing?

It’s adding jobs, and its unemployment rate has barely moved in two years. Louisiana had 32,100 more payroll jobs in August 2026 than a year earlier, a rise of 1.6%, tied with New Mexico and South Carolina for the largest percentage gain of any state, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Its unemployment rate was 4.2% in August 2026, the same as a year earlier, and slightly above the U.S. rate of 4.1%.

Where jobs are hardest to find

Unemployment benefit claims are filed with the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Is Louisiana expensive to live in?

Rent is low by national standards, but so are incomes. The median rent in Louisiana is well below the U.S. median, yet 28.4% of renter households spent half or more of their income on rent and utilities in 2024, the 5th highest share of any state (Census Bureau). We don’t measure the prices of food and other everyday goods, home insurance or power bills, so we can’t rank the overall cost of living.

How does foreclosure work in Louisiana?

Louisiana foreclosures go through a court, but most move fast through a shortcut called executory process. When the mortgage includes a clause agreeing to it, a judge can order the sheriff to seize and sell the home without a hearing first (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, article 2631 and following). For a home you live in, federal rules generally bar a lender from starting foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days behind. Once you’re served the notice of seizure, you have 15 days to file an appeal that can stop the sale. The sale must be advertised in the newspaper, the first time at least 30 days ahead. There is no right to buy the home back after the sale.

Louisiana’s share of the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, run by the Louisiana Housing Corporation, helped 7,629 households with mortgage and other housing costs from a $146.7 million award (U.S. Treasury, through early 2026). It stopped taking applications on Dec. 21, 2023.

Most Louisiana bankruptcies are Chapter 13, the highest share of any state

In 2025, 73.2% of Louisiana bankruptcy filings were under Chapter 13, the highest share of any state, against 35.9% nationwide (U.S. Courts). Chapter 13 lets people keep their property while they repay debts under a court plan over three to five years. Only 24.1% were under Chapter 7, the lowest share of any state. In Chapter 7, a trustee can sell some property to pay creditors. Chapter 13 has been more than half of Louisiana’s filings every year since 2006.

Louisianans filed 10,231 bankruptcy cases in 2025, up 8.5% from 2024, against a rise of 11.1% nationwide. That’s 222.5 filings for every 100,000 residents, the 10th highest rate of the 50 states and D.C., against 167.1 nationwide. Filings have risen every year since 2021.

Louisianans’ mortgage complaints: the payment process and falling behind

Louisianans have sent 4,928 mortgage complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2012. The label used most often is trouble during the payment process (1,519). Complaints about falling behind are split across two labels: struggling to pay the mortgage (939), the bureau’s newer label, and loan modification, collection or foreclosure (864), its older one.

What to watch before the next edition

Three dates that touch Louisiana household bills and health coverage, the nearest first.

1. Oct. 22, 2026

   Utility regulators meet

   The Public Service Commission holds its next open session. Entergy and Meta asked for a final vote on Nov. 18 on the seven gas plants for Meta’s data center; the commission hasn’t posted that date (see what changed).

   Louisiana Public Service Commission; WWNO, Apr. 21, 2026

2. Nov. 1, 2026

   Health plan sign-ups for 2027

   Open enrollment for 2027 HealthCare.gov plans begins; plans chosen by Dec. 15 start on Jan. 1. Louisiana’s marketplace enrollment fell by about a quarter this year after the larger federal tax credits expired (see what changed).

   HealthCare.gov, dates and deadlines

3. Jan. 1, 2027

   Medicaid work rules begin

   Louisiana must start requiring some adults on Medicaid to show 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, job training or school, or earnings of at least $580 a month. The rules apply at application and at renewal. Members up for renewal in January get packets with the new rules in November. Many groups are exempt, including people under 19 or 65 and older, pregnant women, people who are disabled or medically frail, and parents of children under 14. Retroactive coverage, which pays medical bills from before you applied, also shrinks to one month for most adults.

   Louisiana Department of Health

Where Louisiana ranks highest and lowest