California County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 58 counties in California, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 50.5. 9counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
California Snapshot
58 Counties Scored
50.5 Mean Score
50.0 Median Score
69.7 Kern County Most Distressed
25.7 San Francisco County Least Distressed
9 Serious 20 Elevated 22 Normal 7 Healthy
Zone Distribution California County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 58 California counties colored by distress zone. 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 | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 404 | Kern County | 69.7 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 2 | 437 | Imperial County | 69.0 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 3 | 449 | San Bernardino County | 68.7 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 4 | 494 | Lake County | 68.0 | Serious | Economic Vitality |
| 5 | 514 | Merced County | 67.7 | Serious | Economic Vitality |
| 6 | 545 | Fresno County | 67.1 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 7 | 567 | Kings County | 66.8 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 8 | 573 | Tulare County | 66.6 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 9 | 615 | Yuba County | 65.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 10 | 674 | Stanislaus County | 64.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 11 | 679 | Tehama County | 64.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 693 | Butte County | 64.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 750 | Madera County | 63.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 14 | 778 | Riverside County | 62.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 814 | Del Norte County | 62.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 16 | 915 | San Joaquin County | 60.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 17 | 1,054 | Los Angeles County | 58.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 1,111 | Sutter County | 57.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 19 | 1,138 | Shasta County | 57.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 1,140 | Solano County | 57.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 21 | 1,215 | Sacramento County | 55.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 22 | 1,274 | Tuolumne County | 54.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 23 | 1,334 | Glenn County | 54.1 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 24 | 1,343 | Mendocino County | 53.9 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 25 | 1,364 | Siskiyou County | 53.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 26 | 1,382 | Humboldt County | 53.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 27 | 1,397 | Monterey County | 53.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 28 | 1,533 | Lassen County | 50.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 1,570 | Calaveras County | 50.1 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 30 | 1,583 | Mariposa County | 49.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 31 | 1,657 | San Diego County | 48.8 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 32 | 1,671 | Modoc County | 48.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 1,674 | Santa Barbara County | 48.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 34 | 1,757 | Ventura County | 47.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 35 | 1,768 | San Benito County | 47.2 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 1,794 | Colusa County | 46.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 37 | 1,822 | Yolo County | 46.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 38 | 1,946 | Orange County | 44.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 39 | 1,994 | Contra Costa County | 43.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 40 | 2,026 | San Luis Obispo County | 42.8 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 41 | 2,074 | Nevada County | 41.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 42 | 2,096 | Amador County | 41.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 43 | 2,117 | Santa Cruz County | 41.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 44 | 2,141 | Napa County | 40.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 45 | 2,165 | Plumas County | 40.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 46 | 2,185 | Sonoma County | 40.2 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 47 | 2,237 | Alameda County | 39.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 48 | 2,241 | Trinity County | 39.2 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 49 | 2,331 | El Dorado County | 37.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 50 | 2,348 | Placer County | 37.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 51 | 2,358 | Sierra County | 37.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 52 | 2,483 | Inyo County | 34.9 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 53 | 2,584 | Marin County | 33.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 54 | 2,608 | Alpine County | 32.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 55 | 2,665 | Mono County | 31.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 56 | 2,774 | San Mateo County | 29.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 57 | 2,865 | Santa Clara County | 27.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 58 | 2,940 | San Francisco County | 25.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties