California County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 58 counties in California, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 56.1. 31counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
California Snapshot
58 Counties Scored
56.1 Mean Score
58.5 Median Score
77.2 Imperial County Most Distressed
28.9 Mono County Least Distressed
15 Most distressed fifth16 Second-most distressed fifth14 Middle fifth9 Second-least distressed fifth4 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution California County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 58 California counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How California's 58 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All California Counties
58 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 206 | Imperial County | 77.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 232 | Kern County | 76.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 249 | Lake County | 75.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 267 | Merced County | 75.1 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 307 | Fresno County | 74.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 319 | Kings County | 73.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 344 | Tulare County | 72.8 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 354 | San Bernardino County | 72.6 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 369 | Yuba County | 72.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 424 | Stanislaus County | 70.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 11 | 426 | Tehama County | 70.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 443 | Madera County | 70.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 474 | Butte County | 69.9 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 598 | Del Norte County | 67.7 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 15 | 605 | Riverside County | 67.5 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 695 | San Joaquin County | 65.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 759 | Los Angeles County | 64.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | 764 | Sutter County | 64.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 851 | Siskiyou County | 63.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 865 | Glenn County | 62.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 21 | 877 | Shasta County | 62.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 22 | 936 | Modoc County | 61.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 23 | 962 | Tuolumne County | 60.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 24 | 976 | Sacramento County | 60.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 25 | 1,040 | Solano County | 59.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 26 | 1,041 | Mariposa County | 59.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 27 | 1,074 | Mendocino County | 59.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 1,086 | Monterey County | 59.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 29 | 1,105 | Humboldt County | 58.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 30 | 1,121 | Calaveras County | 58.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 31 | 1,190 | Lassen County | 57.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 32 | 1,318 | San Benito County | 54.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 1,358 | Colusa County | 54.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 1,396 | Trinity County | 53.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 35 | 1,481 | Yolo County | 52.0 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | 1,541 | San Diego County | 51.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 37 | 1,550 | Plumas County | 51.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 38 | 1,614 | Ventura County | 49.6 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | 1,616 | Santa Barbara County | 49.6 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | 1,633 | Santa Cruz County | 49.3 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 41 | 1,651 | Amador County | 49.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 42 | 1,691 | Sierra County | 48.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 43 | 1,790 | Nevada County | 46.7 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | 1,824 | Alpine County | 46.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 1,835 | Contra Costa County | 45.9 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 46 | 1,932 | Orange County | 44.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 47 | 1,950 | San Luis Obispo County | 43.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 48 | 1,987 | El Dorado County | 43.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 49 | 2,072 | Napa County | 41.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 2,083 | Alameda County | 41.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | 2,088 | Sonoma County | 41.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 52 | 2,187 | Inyo County | 39.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 53 | 2,219 | Placer County | 39.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 54 | 2,483 | Marin County | 33.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 55 | 2,565 | Santa Clara County | 31.6 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 56 | 2,595 | San Francisco County | 31.0 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | 2,623 | San Mateo County | 30.4 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 58 | 2,684 | Mono County | 28.9 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 15 California counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 16 California counties
Middle fifth — 14 California counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 9 California counties
Least distressed fifth — 4 California counties