California County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 58 counties in California, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 50.4. 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
50.4 Mean Score
50.0 Median Score
69.7 Kern County Most Distressed
25.4 San Francisco County Least Distressed
9 Serious 20 Elevated 22 Normal 7 Healthy
Zone Distribution California County Map
Loading interactive map…
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 | 409 | Kern County | 69.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 437 | Imperial County | 69.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 456 | San Bernardino County | 68.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 495 | Lake County | 67.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 511 | Merced County | 67.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 545 | Fresno County | 67.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 563 | Kings County | 66.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 572 | Tulare County | 66.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 617 | Yuba County | 65.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 10 | 676 | Stanislaus County | 64.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 684 | Tehama County | 64.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 12 | 692 | Butte County | 64.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 749 | Madera County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 790 | Riverside County | 62.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 808 | Del Norte County | 62.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 915 | San Joaquin County | 60.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 1,068 | Los Angeles County | 58.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 1,113 | Sutter County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 1,140 | Shasta County | 57.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 1,146 | Solano County | 57.0 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 21 | 1,227 | Sacramento County | 55.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 22 | 1,282 | Tuolumne County | 54.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 23 | 1,335 | Glenn County | 54.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 1,349 | Mendocino County | 53.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 25 | 1,365 | Siskiyou County | 53.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 26 | 1,387 | Humboldt County | 53.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 27 | 1,397 | Monterey County | 53.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 28 | 1,529 | Lassen County | 50.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 29 | 1,571 | Calaveras County | 50.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 30 | 1,577 | Mariposa County | 50.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 1,671 | San Diego County | 48.6 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 32 | 1,674 | Modoc County | 48.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 1,680 | Santa Barbara County | 48.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 34 | 1,769 | San Benito County | 47.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 35 | 1,772 | Ventura County | 47.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 36 | 1,790 | Colusa County | 46.8 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 37 | 1,822 | Yolo County | 46.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 38 | 1,960 | Orange County | 43.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 39 | 2,005 | Contra Costa County | 43.2 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 40 | 2,036 | San Luis Obispo County | 42.6 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 41 | 2,083 | Nevada County | 41.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 42 | 2,098 | Amador County | 41.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 43 | 2,117 | Santa Cruz County | 41.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 44 | 2,145 | Napa County | 40.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 45 | 2,162 | Plumas County | 40.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 46 | 2,189 | Sonoma County | 40.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 47 | 2,243 | Trinity County | 39.2 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 2,254 | Alameda County | 39.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 49 | 2,339 | El Dorado County | 37.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 50 | 2,358 | Placer County | 37.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 51 | 2,360 | Sierra County | 37.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 52 | 2,488 | Inyo County | 34.8 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 53 | 2,600 | Marin County | 32.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 54 | 2,618 | Alpine County | 32.5 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 55 | 2,686 | Mono County | 31.3 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 56 | 2,782 | San Mateo County | 29.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 57 | 2,875 | Santa Clara County | 27.4 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 58 | 2,952 | San Francisco County | 25.4 | 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