Counties in Louisiana by poverty rate

East Carroll Parish had the highest poverty rate of 64 counties in 2017, at 46.7%. St. Tammany Parish had the lowest, at 11.1%. The median was 21% and the figure for Louisiana was 19.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median2164 counties
Louisiana19.6History

Top 40 counties, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

East Carroll ParishEast Carroll Parish: 46.7 %46.7Claiborne ParishClaiborne Parish: 39.5 %39.5Madison ParishMadison Parish: 38.9 %38.9Tensas ParishTensas Parish: 34.9 %34.9Natchitoches ParishNatchitoches Parish: 30.3 %30.3Morehouse ParishMorehouse Parish: 28 %28Franklin ParishFranklin Parish: 27.9 %27.9Lincoln ParishLincoln Parish: 27.9 %27.9Catahoula ParishCatahoula Parish: 27.8 %27.8Richland ParishRichland Parish: 27.8 %27.8Concordia ParishConcordia Parish: 27.7 %27.7Orleans ParishOrleans Parish: 26.1 %26.1Caddo ParishCaddo Parish: 25.8 %25.8St. Landry ParishSt. Landry Parish: 25.6 %25.6Bienville ParishBienville Parish: 25.4 %25.4Ouachita ParishOuachita Parish: 24.7 %24.7Avoyelles ParishAvoyelles Parish: 24.6 %24.6Jackson ParishJackson Parish: 24.6 %24.6Iberia ParishIberia Parish: 23.8 %23.8Winn ParishWinn Parish: 23.7 %23.7Evangeline ParishEvangeline Parish: 23.6 %23.6Caldwell ParishCaldwell Parish: 23.4 %23.4Red River ParishRed River Parish: 23.3 %23.3St. Helena ParishSt. Helena Parish: 23.2 %23.2Acadia ParishAcadia Parish: 23.1 %23.1Washington ParishWashington Parish: 23.1 %23.1Iberville ParishIberville Parish: 22.9 %22.9De Soto ParishDe Soto Parish: 22.8 %22.8Sabine ParishSabine Parish: 22.2 %22.2West Carroll ParishWest Carroll Parish: 21.2 %21.2Grant ParishGrant Parish: 21 %21West Feliciana ParishWest Feliciana Parish: 21 %21Tangipahoa ParishTangipahoa Parish: 20.9 %20.9Allen ParishAllen Parish: 20.8 %20.8East Feliciana ParishEast Feliciana Parish: 20.6 %20.6St. Mary ParishSt. Mary Parish: 20.5 %20.5Webster ParishWebster Parish: 20.3 %20.3St. Bernard ParishSt. Bernard Parish: 20 %20Rapides ParishRapides Parish: 19.9 %19.9Terrebonne ParishTerrebonne Parish: 19.7 %19.7
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1East Carroll Parish46.7+3.2 pts
2Claiborne Parish39.5+4.6 pts
3Madison Parish38.9-2.4 pts
4Tensas Parish34.9+3.3 pts
5Natchitoches Parish30.3-1.6 pts
6Morehouse Parish28-0.7 pts
7Franklin Parish27.9-1.3 pts
7Lincoln Parish27.9-2.3 pts
9Catahoula Parish27.8+0.3 pts
9Richland Parish27.8+0.6 pts
11Concordia Parish27.7-0.8 pts
12Orleans Parish26.1+2 pts
13Caddo Parish25.8-0.6 pts
14St. Landry Parish25.6-1 pts
15Bienville Parish25.4+1.9 pts
16Ouachita Parish24.7+0.2 pts
17Avoyelles Parish24.6-1.3 pts
17Jackson Parish24.6+3.4 pts
19Iberia Parish23.8+0.4 pts
20Winn Parish23.7-0.6 pts
21Evangeline Parish23.6-5.8 pts
22Caldwell Parish23.4+0.8 pts
23Red River Parish23.3-3 pts
24St. Helena Parish23.2-1.5 pts
25Acadia Parish23.10 pts
25Washington Parish23.1-4.7 pts
27Iberville Parish22.9+0.1 pts
28De Soto Parish22.8+1.7 pts
29Sabine Parish22.2+3.7 pts
30West Carroll Parish21.2-2.6 pts
31Grant Parish21-0.5 pts
31West Feliciana Parish21-2.7 pts
33Tangipahoa Parish20.9-0.6 pts
34Allen Parish20.8-0.6 pts
35East Feliciana Parish20.6+0.6 pts
36St. Mary Parish20.5-1.7 pts
37Webster Parish20.3-3.8 pts
38St. Bernard Parish20-3.5 pts
39Rapides Parish19.90 pts
40Terrebonne Parish19.7-1.4 pts
41Jefferson Davis Parish19.30 pts
42St. Martin Parish19.2+0.7 pts
43Assumption Parish18.9-2.3 pts
43East Baton Rouge Parish18.9-1 pts
45Pointe Coupee Parish18.8-0.9 pts
46LaSalle Parish18.4-0.9 pts
47Vernon Parish18.3+3.4 pts
48St. John the Baptist Parish18.1-0.4 pts
49Lafayette Parish17.4-0.7 pts
50Jefferson Parish17.1+1 pts
51Vermilion Parish17-2.6 pts
52Bossier Parish16.8+0.1 pts
53St. James Parish16.7-2.3 pts
54Union Parish16.4-3.8 pts
55Plaquemines Parish16.2+0.8 pts
56Lafourche Parish15.8-1.3 pts
57Beauregard Parish14.6-0.2 pts
58Calcasieu Parish14.2-5.7 pts
59West Baton Rouge Parish13.5-3.3 pts
60Cameron Parish13.2+0.9 pts
61Ascension Parish12.6+1.9 pts
62Livingston Parish11.4-1.2 pts
62St. Charles Parish11.4-1.7 pts
64St. Tammany Parish11.1+1.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2017/2017-state-and-county/est17all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

East Carroll Parish, with 46.7% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

St. Tammany Parish, with 11.1% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Louisiana: more rankings