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Cliff-Zone Families
133,332
Total Wage Suppression
$97.1M
State Avg Cliff Zone
19.0%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Louisiana, an estimated 133,332 families across 64 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish | 452,938 | 17.0% | 11,789 | $8.6M | 190% |
| Jefferson Parish | 430,920 | 18.1% | 11,471 | $8.4M | 204% |
| Orleans Parish | 371,853 | 18.1% | 8,227 | $6.0M | 204% |
| Lafayette Parish | 247,997 | 17.3% | 7,304 | $5.3M | 190% |
| Caddo Parish | 230,004 | 21.7% | 7,119 | $5.2M | 190% |
| St. Tammany Parish | 272,421 | 14.6% | 6,544 | $4.8M | 204% |
| Calcasieu Parish | 207,088 | 18.0% | 5,447 | $4.0M | 190% |
| Ouachita Parish | 158,480 | 17.8% | 4,504 | $3.3M | 190% |
| Tangipahoa Parish | 136,738 | 20.7% | 4,199 | $3.1M | 190% |
| Rapides Parish | 127,527 | 21.5% | 4,098 | $3.0M | 190% |
| Livingston Parish | 148,115 | 16.3% | 4,081 | $3.0M | 190% |
| Terrebonne Parish | 106,186 | 20.9% | 3,798 | $2.8M | 190% |
| Bossier Parish | 129,789 | 17.0% | 3,716 | $2.7M | 190% |
| Lafourche Parish | 96,252 | 19.8% | 3,214 | $2.3M | 190% |
| Ascension Parish | 130,314 | 12.1% | 2,993 | $2.2M | 190% |
| St. Landry Parish | 81,670 | 23.2% | 2,733 | $2.0M | 190% |
| Iberia Parish | 68,599 | 21.1% | 2,378 | $1.7M | 190% |
| St. Martin Parish | 51,353 | 24.1% | 2,089 | $1.5M | 190% |
| Vernon Parish | 47,117 | 23.6% | 2,033 | $1.5M | 190% |
| Vermilion Parish | 57,123 | 20.2% | 1,969 | $1.4M | 190% |
| Acadia Parish | 56,955 | 22.0% | 1,810 | $1.3M | 190% |
| St. John the Baptist Parish | 40,743 | 23.6% | 1,655 | $1.2M | 204% |
| Webster Parish | 35,820 | 30.5% | 1,556 | $1.1M | 190% |
| Avoyelles Parish | 38,905 | 26.1% | 1,553 | $1.1M | 190% |
| St. Mary Parish | 47,828 | 24.8% | 1,545 | $1.1M | 190% |
| St. Bernard Parish | 44,419 | 21.7% | 1,534 | $1.1M | 204% |
| St. Charles Parish | 51,396 | 13.8% | 1,259 | $917K | 204% |
| Lincoln Parish | 48,174 | 20.6% | 1,237 | $901K | 190% |
| Washington Parish | 45,120 | 21.5% | 1,210 | $881K | 190% |
| Evangeline Parish | 32,060 | 24.9% | 1,201 | $874K | 190% |
| Jefferson Davis Parish | 31,924 | 22.1% | 1,101 | $802K | 190% |
| Natchitoches Parish | 36,693 | 22.5% | 1,083 | $788K | 190% |
| Beauregard Parish | 36,676 | 16.8% | 955 | $695K | 190% |
| De Soto Parish | 27,026 | 21.3% | 923 | $672K | 190% |
| Franklin Parish | 19,408 | 23.6% | 915 | $666K | 190% |
| Sabine Parish | 21,977 | 24.5% | 795 | $579K | 190% |
| Morehouse Parish | 24,551 | 21.9% | 793 | $577K | 190% |
| Assumption Parish | 20,484 | 21.5% | 784 | $571K | 190% |
| West Baton Rouge Parish | 27,974 | 16.7% | 768 | $559K | 190% |
| Richland Parish | 19,822 | 24.2% | 712 | $518K | 190% |
| St. James Parish | 19,528 | 19.0% | 689 | $502K | 190% |
| Iberville Parish | 29,815 | 17.2% | 686 | $499K | 190% |
| Plaquemines Parish | 22,803 | 14.2% | 678 | $494K | 204% |
| Union Parish | 20,821 | 21.6% | 667 | $486K | 190% |
| Grant Parish | 22,095 | 23.1% | 647 | $471K | 190% |
| Allen Parish | 22,477 | 22.3% | 611 | $445K | 190% |
| Concordia Parish | 18,174 | 17.3% | 540 | $393K | 190% |
| Jackson Parish | 14,884 | 23.7% | 521 | $379K | 190% |
| Pointe Coupee Parish | 20,217 | 16.8% | 470 | $342K | 190% |
| Claiborne Parish | 13,833 | 30.1% | 437 | $318K | 190% |
| East Feliciana Parish | 19,271 | 18.2% | 414 | $301K | 190% |
| Bienville Parish | 12,638 | 28.8% | 406 | $296K | 190% |
| West Carroll Parish | 9,464 | 29.4% | 404 | $294K | 190% |
| Catahoula Parish | 8,583 | 26.1% | 382 | $278K | 190% |
| Winn Parish | 13,467 | 20.4% | 376 | $274K | 190% |
| Red River Parish | 7,443 | 26.0% | 360 | $262K | 190% |
| Madison Parish | 9,513 | 29.1% | 342 | $249K | 190% |
| LaSalle Parish | 14,789 | 20.2% | 312 | $227K | 190% |
| East Carroll Parish | 7,072 | 28.1% | 306 | $223K | 190% |
| West Feliciana Parish | 15,327 | 13.6% | 259 | $189K | 190% |
| St. Helena Parish | 10,858 | 21.3% | 234 | $170K | 190% |
| Cameron Parish | 5,015 | 18.8% | 214 | $156K | 190% |
| Caldwell Parish | 9,500 | 17.0% | 188 | $137K | 190% |
| Tensas Parish | 3,935 | 24.3% | 94 | $68K | 190% |
64 of 64 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.