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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Louisiana

28 persistent-poverty counties

Louisiana has 28 persistent-poverty counties and 27 nonmetro counties — home to 1,587,454 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 18.9% and child poverty is 25.7%.

28

Persistent-poverty counties

27

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

1.6M

Residents in PPCs

64

Total counties

Louisiana by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Louisiana at a glance

Poverty rate

18.9%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

25.7%

Under 18

PPC share

43.8%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

42.2%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

1.28

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.33

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Louisiana's 59 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 64 in Louisiana.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Claiborne 0.74
  2. 2 Tensas 0.73
  3. 3 Catahoula 0.71
  4. 4 East Carroll 0.71
  5. 5 Bienville 0.69

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Madison 36.7%
  2. 2 East Carroll 35.7%
  3. 3 Claiborne 35.0%
  4. 4 Concordia 34.8%
  5. 5 Tensas 32.8%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Madison 36.7%
  2. 2 East Carroll 35.7%
  3. 3 Claiborne 35.0%
  4. 4 Concordia 34.8%
  5. 5 Tensas 32.8%

Every county in Louisiana

All 64 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Acadia 2 Yes Low ed. 24.4% 33.3% 57,218 0.44
Allen 6 — Low emp., Low ed. 20.4% 26.7% 22,552 0.27
Ascension 2 — — 10.3% 14.0% 128,593 0.08
Assumption 2 — Low ed. 13.9% 13.9% 20,720 0.09
Avoyelles 6 Yes — 27.4% 38.0% 39,176 0.60
Beauregard 6 — — 14.1% 18.7% 36,646 0.24
Bienville 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 32.1% 54.4% 12,769 0.69
Bossier 2 — Housing 16.4% 23.4% 129,134 0.10
Caddo 2 Yes Housing 22.3% 30.4% 232,973 0.43
Calcasieu 2 — — 17.8% 24.7% 208,668 0.11
Caldwell 8 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 25.4% 25.7% 9,563 0.36
Cameron 2 — Pop. loss 6.3% 2.1% 5,222 0.06
Catahoula 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 28.1% 39.9% 8,738 0.71
Claiborne 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed. 35.0% 55.6% 14,019 0.74
Concordia 6 Yes Low emp., Low ed. 34.8% 51.4% 18,325 0.63
De Soto 2 — — 21.8% 29.8% 26,897 0.12
East Baton Rouge 2 — Housing 18.6% 23.5% 452,821 0.11
East Carroll 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 35.7% 49.9% 7,195 0.71
East Feliciana 2 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 13.5% 11.9% 19,378 0.09
Evangeline 6 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 23.0% 30.2% 32,162 0.58
Franklin 6 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 25.6% 38.7% 19,590 0.59
Grant 3 — Low emp., Low ed. 16.1% 20.7% 22,123 0.14
Iberia 4 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 22.6% 32.8% 69,194 0.50
Iberville 2 — — 15.5% 20.6% 29,950 0.10
Jackson 6 — Low emp., Low ed. 24.3% 41.1% 14,939 0.28
Jefferson 1 — Housing 16.3% 23.9% 432,484 0.07
Jefferson Davis 2 — — 17.8% 18.2% 32,083 0.11
Lafayette 2 — — 17.4% 24.4% 245,075 0.11
Lafourche 3 — — 18.0% 24.5% 96,670 0.15
LaSalle 8 — Low ed. 15.5% 24.5% 14,804 0.32
Lincoln 4 Yes Housing 30.7% 37.8% 48,160 0.54
Livingston 2 — — 13.1% 16.1% 145,583 0.09
Madison 6 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 36.7% 51.4% 9,757 0.63
Morehouse 3 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 30.7% 48.8% 24,967 0.50
Natchitoches 6 Yes — 24.1% 26.4% 37,047 0.58
Orleans 1 Yes Housing 22.6% 32.2% 376,035 0.39
Ouachita 3 Yes Housing 24.0% 33.2% 158,916 0.47
Plaquemines 1 — — 13.4% 17.0% 23,070 0.05
Pointe Coupee 2 — — 17.8% 25.9% 20,438 0.11
Rapides 3 — — 18.9% 25.8% 128,470 0.15
Red River 8 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 29.4% 44.1% 7,529 0.68
Richland 3 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 23.5% 31.9% 19,908 0.47
Sabine 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed. 22.7% 27.9% 22,085 0.65
St. Bernard 1 — Housing, Retire. 22.6% 31.2% 44,172 0.09
St. Charles 1 — — 9.8% 13.1% 51,863 0.04
St. Helena 2 Yes Low ed. 30.0% 39.4% 10,849 0.46
St. James 1 — — 10.5% 13.4% 19,797 0.04
St. John the Baptist 1 — — 12.6% 13.8% 41,342 0.05
St. Landry 4 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 24.0% 28.8% 82,128 0.51
St. Martin 2 — Low ed. 16.6% 19.3% 51,559 0.10
St. Mary 4 Yes Low ed. 22.1% 28.5% 48,455 0.50
St. Tammany 2 — — 12.2% 17.8% 269,331 0.09
Tangipahoa 3 Yes — 19.4% 27.6% 135,218 0.45
Tensas 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 32.8% 51.6% 3,992 0.73
Terrebonne 3 — — 16.5% 21.3% 107,362 0.14
Union 3 — Pop. loss 28.6% 51.9% 20,914 0.19
Vermilion 2 — — 19.2% 24.0% 57,031 0.11
Vernon 4 — Low emp., Pop. loss 18.3% 23.4% 47,764 0.19
Washington 6 Yes Low ed. 24.2% 34.3% 45,238 0.58
Webster 6 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 26.9% 35.4% 36,189 0.60
West Baton Rouge 2 — — 16.0% 24.7% 27,666 0.10
West Carroll 8 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 15.7% 22.7% 9,622 0.63
West Feliciana 2 — Low emp. 11.6% 17.8% 15,381 0.08
Winn 8 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 22.0% 33.1% 13,506 0.35

Find a food pantry in Louisiana

Search Louisiana's 59 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Louisiana pantry directory

Louisiana SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Louisiana SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Louisiana food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology