About one in six people with a credit file in Amador County, California, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Amador County, 15.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Amador County's score
In Amador County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 70.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 23.9. People with a credit card behind: 3.6%, August 2025, lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Amador 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, Amador County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (24.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 58.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent15.4% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people162.6 · 202564th percentile
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- 28.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,625 · 202413th percentile
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- 23.9 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 behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.0% · second quarter of 202622nd 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 Amador 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 Amador County, 27.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Amador County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Amador County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Amador County, California, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Amador County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 4.3% in 2010 to 6.1% in 2011; 8.0% in 2023 to 9.8% in 2024.
The share of households in Amador County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 9.8%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Amador County, California.
How Amador County has changed
Amador County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 42,026, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 28,939. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Amador County, California.
The number of jobs located in Amador County made its largest gain on the way to its 2005 high, from 10,858 in 2000 to 12,558 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Amador County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 12,197
High on the chart: 12,558 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Amador County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 6.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.9% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,592 | 2024 $85,625 |
The table uses 6.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Amador County's history
1854
Amador County was created by the California Legislature May 11, 1854 from parts of Calaveras and El Dorado counties. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 40,474, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Amador County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Amador County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Amador County, four score higher. Of the group, Amador County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (29.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin County, CA | 71 | 12.9% | 23.8% |
| Calaveras County, CA | 63 | 11.5% | 29.1% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 59 | 12.0% | 22.9% |
| Alpine County, CA | 41 | 15.8% | 28.9% |
| Amador County, CA | 40 | 10.8% | 29.7% |
| El Dorado County, CA | 31 | 7.9% | 16.8% |
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 Amador County the poorest county in California?
No, Amador County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 41st 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, Amador County ranks 42nd of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Amador 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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Legal Services of Northern California
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 Amador 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 Amador County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.