Unemployment in Calaveras County, California, is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties
In Calaveras County, 6.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calaveras County's score
In Calaveras County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 89.7. Housing costs come next, at 83.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calaveras 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.
Calaveras County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (3.2%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (5.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 83.4 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 rent28.6% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 48.3 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 people204 · 202575th percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,852 · 202420th percentile
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- 32.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202517th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.4% · second quarter of 202634th 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 Calaveras 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 Calaveras County, 29.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calaveras County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calaveras County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Calaveras County, California, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calaveras County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.9% in 2011 to 5.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Calaveras County getting SNAP food aid tripled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.5%
High on the chart: 9.6% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calaveras County, California.
How Calaveras County has changed
Calaveras County's population more than tripled to 46,505, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 37,073. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calaveras County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Calaveras County rose by more than half to 10,140, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 7,567. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calaveras County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,056 | 2024 $79,852 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.2% 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 Calaveras County's history
1850
Calaveras County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of admission to the Union. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 45,578. The 2020 Census counted 45,292, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $7.01 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calaveras County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calaveras County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Calaveras County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calaveras County ranks 3rd of the six; Tuolumne County is highest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanislaus County, CA | 81 | 14.2% | 25.1% |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 71 | 12.9% | 23.8% |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 63 | 12.7% | 31.6% |
| Calaveras County, CA | 63 | 11.5% | 29.1% |
| Alpine County, CA | 41 | 15.8% | 28.9% |
| Amador County, CA | 40 | 10.8% | 29.7% |
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 Calaveras County the poorest county in California?
No, Calaveras County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 38th 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, Calaveras County ranks 24th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calaveras 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 Calaveras 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 Calaveras County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.