Counties in Louisiana by poverty rate

East Carroll Parish had the highest poverty rate of 64 counties in 2018, at 45.7%. Ascension Parish had the lowest, at 10.8%. The median was 20.5% and the figure for Louisiana was 18.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median20.564 counties
Louisiana18.7History

Top 40 counties, 2018

CSVChart (SVG)

East Carroll ParishEast Carroll Parish: 45.7 %45.7Madison ParishMadison Parish: 41.7 %41.7Natchitoches ParishNatchitoches Parish: 32.8 %32.8Claiborne ParishClaiborne Parish: 32.7 %32.7St. Landry ParishSt. Landry Parish: 32.7 %32.7Tensas ParishTensas Parish: 31.6 %31.6Avoyelles ParishAvoyelles Parish: 27.4 %27.4Morehouse ParishMorehouse Parish: 27.4 %27.4Evangeline ParishEvangeline Parish: 27.3 %27.3Franklin ParishFranklin Parish: 27.3 %27.3Concordia ParishConcordia Parish: 27.2 %27.2Bienville ParishBienville Parish: 26.9 %26.9Richland ParishRichland Parish: 26.2 %26.2Catahoula ParishCatahoula Parish: 26 %26Webster ParishWebster Parish: 26 %26Lincoln ParishLincoln Parish: 25.8 %25.8Acadia ParishAcadia Parish: 25.2 %25.2Washington ParishWashington Parish: 24.6 %24.6West Feliciana ParishWest Feliciana Parish: 24.4 %24.4Iberia ParishIberia Parish: 24.1 %24.1Iberville ParishIberville Parish: 23.8 %23.8Orleans ParishOrleans Parish: 23.8 %23.8West Carroll ParishWest Carroll Parish: 23.3 %23.3Red River ParishRed River Parish: 23.1 %23.1Sabine ParishSabine Parish: 23.1 %23.1Winn ParishWinn Parish: 22.8 %22.8Caddo ParishCaddo Parish: 22.4 %22.4Jackson ParishJackson Parish: 21.6 %21.6Ouachita ParishOuachita Parish: 21.3 %21.3St. Mary ParishSt. Mary Parish: 21 %21Caldwell ParishCaldwell Parish: 20.8 %20.8Assumption ParishAssumption Parish: 20.7 %20.7Pointe Coupee ParishPointe Coupee Parish: 20.3 %20.3St. Bernard ParishSt. Bernard Parish: 20.1 %20.1Grant ParishGrant Parish: 20 %20Allen ParishAllen Parish: 19.6 %19.6East Feliciana ParishEast Feliciana Parish: 19.6 %19.6St. Helena ParishSt. Helena Parish: 19.6 %19.6LaSalle ParishLaSalle Parish: 19.5 %19.5Rapides ParishRapides Parish: 19.4 %19.4
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1East Carroll Parish45.7-1 pts
2Madison Parish41.7+2.8 pts
3Natchitoches Parish32.8+2.5 pts
4Claiborne Parish32.7-6.8 pts
4St. Landry Parish32.7+7.1 pts
6Tensas Parish31.6-3.3 pts
7Avoyelles Parish27.4+2.8 pts
7Morehouse Parish27.4-0.6 pts
9Evangeline Parish27.3+3.7 pts
9Franklin Parish27.3-0.6 pts
11Concordia Parish27.2-0.5 pts
12Bienville Parish26.9+1.5 pts
13Richland Parish26.2-1.6 pts
14Catahoula Parish26-1.8 pts
14Webster Parish26+5.7 pts
16Lincoln Parish25.8-2.1 pts
17Acadia Parish25.2+2.1 pts
18Washington Parish24.6+1.5 pts
19West Feliciana Parish24.4+3.4 pts
20Iberia Parish24.1+0.3 pts
21Iberville Parish23.8+0.9 pts
21Orleans Parish23.8-2.3 pts
23West Carroll Parish23.3+2.1 pts
24Red River Parish23.1-0.2 pts
24Sabine Parish23.1+0.9 pts
26Winn Parish22.8-0.9 pts
27Caddo Parish22.4-3.4 pts
28Jackson Parish21.6-3 pts
29Ouachita Parish21.3-3.4 pts
30St. Mary Parish21+0.5 pts
31Caldwell Parish20.8-2.6 pts
32Assumption Parish20.7+1.8 pts
33Pointe Coupee Parish20.3+1.5 pts
34St. Bernard Parish20.1+0.1 pts
35Grant Parish20-1 pts
36Allen Parish19.6-1.2 pts
36East Feliciana Parish19.6-1 pts
36St. Helena Parish19.6-3.6 pts
39LaSalle Parish19.5+1.1 pts
40Rapides Parish19.4-0.5 pts
41St. Martin Parish19.3+0.1 pts
42De Soto Parish18.3-4.5 pts
42Vermilion Parish18.3+1.3 pts
44St. John the Baptist Parish18.2+0.1 pts
45Union Parish18+1.6 pts
46Tangipahoa Parish17.9-3 pts
47Jefferson Davis Parish17.7-1.6 pts
48Vernon Parish17.5-0.8 pts
49Terrebonne Parish17.3-2.4 pts
50St. James Parish16.8+0.1 pts
51East Baton Rouge Parish16.7-2.2 pts
52Lafourche Parish16.6+0.8 pts
53Jefferson Parish15.6-1.5 pts
54Plaquemines Parish15.5-0.7 pts
55Beauregard Parish15.4+0.8 pts
56Lafayette Parish15.3-2.1 pts
57Calcasieu Parish14.9+0.7 pts
58Bossier Parish14.4-2.4 pts
59Cameron Parish13.9+0.7 pts
60St. Charles Parish12.8+1.4 pts
60West Baton Rouge Parish12.8-0.7 pts
62St. Tammany Parish11.8+0.7 pts
63Livingston Parish11.3-0.1 pts
64Ascension Parish10.8-1.8 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/2018/2018-state-and-county/est18all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Louisiana by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Louisiana","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Louisiana&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

East Carroll Parish, with 45.7% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Ascension Parish, with 10.8% in 2018.

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