Louisiana County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 64 counties in Louisiana, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 68.0. 40counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Louisiana Snapshot
64 Counties Scored
68.0 Mean Score
69.3 Median Score
82.9 East Carroll Parish Most Distressed
40.2 Cameron Parish Least Distressed
6 Crisis 34 Serious 22 Elevated 2 Normal
Zone Distribution Louisiana County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 64 Louisiana counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Louisiana's 64 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Louisiana Counties
64 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | East Carroll Parish | 82.9 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 2 | 34 | Caddo Parish | 82.7 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 41 | Morehouse Parish | 82.1 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 4 | 56 | Webster Parish | 80.3 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 5 | 57 | St. Bernard Parish | 80.3 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 60 | Concordia Parish | 80.3 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 89 | Catahoula Parish | 78.7 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 99 | Orleans Parish | 78.2 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 9 | 101 | Madison Parish | 78.1 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 10 | 110 | Avoyelles Parish | 77.8 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 111 | Tangipahoa Parish | 77.8 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 114 | Natchitoches Parish | 77.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 13 | 115 | Ouachita Parish | 77.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 140 | Rapides Parish | 76.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 15 | 155 | St. Landry Parish | 76.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 184 | Washington Parish | 75.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 193 | Claiborne Parish | 74.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 18 | 255 | Caldwell Parish | 73.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 268 | Richland Parish | 73.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 20 | 269 | Iberia Parish | 72.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 21 | 275 | Calcasieu Parish | 72.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 279 | Allen Parish | 72.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 23 | 284 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 72.6 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 309 | St. Mary Parish | 72.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 327 | Lincoln Parish | 71.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 328 | Bienville Parish | 71.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 27 | 342 | Tensas Parish | 71.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 28 | 351 | Jefferson Parish | 70.9 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 29 | 383 | Acadia Parish | 70.1 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 30 | 387 | St. Helena Parish | 70.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 31 | 397 | St. John the Baptist Parish | 69.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 419 | Evangeline Parish | 69.4 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 428 | Pointe Coupee Parish | 69.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 34 | 464 | St. Martin Parish | 68.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 492 | Franklin Parish | 68.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 36 | 522 | Assumption Parish | 67.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 37 | 536 | De Soto Parish | 67.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 550 | Bossier Parish | 67.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 39 | 559 | Terrebonne Parish | 66.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 607 | Red River Parish | 65.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 41 | 645 | Vernon Parish | 64.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 42 | 691 | Winn Parish | 64.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 43 | 710 | Sabine Parish | 63.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 815 | Lafayette Parish | 62.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 45 | 841 | Vermilion Parish | 61.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 46 | 843 | Jackson Parish | 61.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 47 | 854 | Union Parish | 61.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 48 | 863 | Livingston Parish | 61.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 49 | 881 | Grant Parish | 61.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 50 | 937 | West Baton Rouge Parish | 60.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 939 | St. Charles Parish | 60.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 52 | 954 | LaSalle Parish | 59.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 53 | 997 | St. Tammany Parish | 59.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 54 | 1,011 | Lafourche Parish | 59.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 55 | 1,023 | Iberville Parish | 58.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 56 | 1,040 | Jefferson Davis Parish | 58.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 57 | 1,122 | West Feliciana Parish | 57.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 58 | 1,162 | Plaquemines Parish | 56.7 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 59 | 1,187 | St. James Parish | 56.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 1,193 | Beauregard Parish | 56.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 61 | 1,359 | West Carroll Parish | 53.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 62 | 1,470 | Ascension Parish | 51.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 63 | 1,616 | East Feliciana Parish | 49.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 64 | 2,183 | Cameron Parish | 40.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties