In Alameda County, California, benefit checks make up only 13 cents of every dollar of income
In Alameda County, 12.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alameda County's score
In Alameda County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 87.9. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.9. The typical household earns $128,031 a year (2024), more than in 99% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alameda County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Alameda County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (26.3%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent25.1% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.3% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 50.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 21.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.7% · second quarter of 20267th percentile
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- 16.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.5% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people75.5 · 202522nd percentile
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- 6.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.0% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability10.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$128,031 · 20241st percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Alameda County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Alameda County, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alameda County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Alameda County had its largest rise, from 11.2% in 2004 to 14.5% in 2009.
In Alameda County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 12.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Alameda County, California, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Alameda County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 9.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 9.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Alameda County, California.
How Alameda County has changed
Alameda County's population had its largest rise, from 1,498,539 in 2009 to 1,614,744 in 2014.
Alameda County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,649,060
High on the chart: 1,683,879 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alameda County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Alameda County rose by about a third to 783,094, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 728,995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alameda County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $34,732 | 2024 $128,031 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Alameda County's history
1853
County was formed on March 25, 1853 from a large portion of Contra Costa County and smaller portion of Santa Clara County. Wikipedia
1998
Heavy rain in January 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A flood in December 2005 did $8.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flood in January 2006 did $8.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,682,353, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in March 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alameda County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alameda County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Alameda County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Alameda County ranks 3rd of the six; Stanislaus County is highest, at 25.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanislaus County, CA | 81 | 14.2% | 25.1% |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 71 | 12.9% | 23.8% |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 37 | 8.5% | 12.4% |
| Alameda County, CA | 26 | 8.8% | 12.9% |
| San Francisco County, CA | 15 | 11.3% | 9.1% |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 12 | 7.1% | 7.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Alameda County the poorest county in California?
No, Alameda County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 50th highest of 58 in California (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Trinity County, at 23.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alameda County ranks 52nd of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alameda County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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A-1 Community Housing Services
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Money Management International - Oakland
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Nid-hca Oakland Main Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Bay Area Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Alameda County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Alameda County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.