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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Louisiana

46.6% coverage

Louisiana's WIC program reaches 46.6% of eligible residents — an estimated 81,000 participants out of 174,000 who qualify. That leaves 93,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

174K

WIC eligibles

81K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

93K

Unserved eligibles

64

Counties

Louisiana by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Louisiana inherits the state's 46.6% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Louisiana at a glance

Coverage rate

46.6%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

53.4%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

174K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

81K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

93K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

155K

45.1% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 64 counties in Louisiana.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 East Baton Rouge 17K
  2. 2 Jefferson 14K
  3. 3 Orleans 12K
  4. 4 Caddo 12K
  5. 5 Lafayette 9K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 East Baton Rouge 9K
  2. 2 Jefferson 8K
  3. 3 Orleans 7K
  4. 4 Caddo 6K
  5. 5 Lafayette 5K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Claiborne 81.7%
  2. 2 Madison 80.2%
  3. 3 Tensas 77.5%
  4. 4 Jackson 76.3%
  5. 5 Bienville 74.0%

Every county in Louisiana

All 64 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Acadia 3,233 1,505 1,728 2,871 55.8%
Allen 840 391 449 746 50.9%
Ascension 2,363 1,100 1,263 2,099 20.2%
Assumption 636 296 340 565 45.0%
Avoyelles 2,459 1,145 1,314 2,184 70.3%
Beauregard 1,405 654 751 1,248 41.9%
Bienville 744 346 398 661 74.0%
Bossier 4,615 2,148 2,467 4,099 43.5%
Caddo 12,038 5,604 6,434 10,692 60.1%
Calcasieu 7,699 3,584 4,115 6,838 41.3%
Caldwell 356 166 190 316 49.6%
Cameron 133 62 71 118 26.5%
Catahoula 459 214 245 408 59.0%
Claiborne 735 342 393 653 81.7%
Concordia 946 440 506 840 68.6%
De Soto 1,102 513 589 979 51.7%
East Baton Rouge 16,653 7,752 8,901 14,791 42.5%
East Carroll 236 110 126 210 67.7%
East Feliciana 337 157 180 299 25.2%
Evangeline 1,169 544 625 1,038 43.0%
Franklin 877 408 469 779 53.1%
Grant 909 423 486 807 60.0%
Iberia 3,758 1,750 2,008 3,338 58.8%
Iberville 1,098 511 587 975 52.4%
Jackson 887 413 474 788 76.3%
Jefferson 14,105 6,566 7,539 12,528 39.0%
Jefferson Davis 858 399 459 762 31.7%
Lafayette 9,010 4,194 4,816 8,002 40.8%
Lafourche 3,260 1,517 1,743 2,895 40.8%
LaSalle 433 202 231 385 37.6%
Lincoln 1,663 774 889 1,477 51.9%
Livingston 4,179 1,946 2,233 3,712 32.2%
Madison 833 388 445 740 80.2%
Morehouse 1,154 537 617 1,025 59.9%
Natchitoches 1,539 716 823 1,367 54.1%
Orleans 12,276 5,715 6,561 10,903 44.3%
Ouachita 6,620 3,082 3,538 5,880 50.2%
Plaquemines 799 372 427 710 42.3%
Pointe Coupee 700 326 374 622 49.0%
Rapides 6,077 2,829 3,248 5,397 54.2%
Red River 332 155 177 295 68.1%
Richland 868 404 464 771 53.5%
Sabine 983 458 525 873 56.2%
St. Bernard 2,399 1,117 1,282 2,131 60.1%
St. Charles 1,773 826 947 1,575 48.4%
St. Helena 432 201 231 384 66.4%
St. James 644 300 344 572 40.8%
St. John the Baptist 1,497 697 800 1,330 45.4%
St. Landry 3,773 1,756 2,017 3,351 51.4%
St. Martin 1,633 760 873 1,450 38.0%
St. Mary 2,227 1,037 1,190 1,978 53.6%
St. Tammany 6,301 2,933 3,368 5,596 31.1%
Tangipahoa 5,663 2,636 3,027 5,030 45.7%
Tensas 214 100 114 190 77.5%
Terrebonne 3,965 1,846 2,119 3,522 41.8%
Union 1,071 498 573 951 67.5%
Vermilion 2,263 1,054 1,209 2,010 46.1%
Vernon 2,667 1,242 1,425 2,369 54.2%
Washington 2,075 966 1,109 1,843 56.1%
Webster 1,888 879 1,009 1,677 68.0%
West Baton Rouge 766 356 410 680 33.1%
West Carroll 341 159 182 303 46.5%
West Feliciana 472 220 252 419 52.9%
Winn 556 259 297 494 64.2%

Apply for WIC in Louisiana

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Louisiana's WIC agency.

Louisiana WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Louisiana.

Families guide

Louisiana SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Louisiana SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Louisiana's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Louisiana food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology