Monterey County, California

County Distress Index: Elevated · 60.4 | 430,723 people · 24th most distressed in California
American Default Research

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Monterey County, CA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 60.4 — 804th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Housing Cost Burden, where a large share of households spend more than 30% of income on housing. Within California, it ranks 24th of 58 counties. Among its 5 neighboring counties, 3 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Monterey County's primary driver is Housing Cost Burden at 95.7 — worse than roughly 96% of U.S. counties.

Housing Cost Burden Primary driver 95.7
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 97
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 89
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 95
Homeownership Rate 98
Rent-to-Income Ratio 99
Employment & Wages 93.7
Unemployment Rate 99
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 100
Business Formation Rate 83
Income & Poverty 50.1
Poverty Rate 54
Income vs. State Median 34
Child Poverty Rate 63
Community Vulnerability 33.9
Uninsured Rate 64
Disability Rate 4
Debt & Delinquency 28.7
Debt in Collections 23
Medical Debt 7
Student Loan Delinquency 32
Auto Loan Delinquency 29
Credit Card Delinquency 36
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 46

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Monterey County compares to its 5 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Monterey County
Monterey County, CA 60.4 Elevated —
Kings County, CA 69.8 Serious +9.3
Fresno County, CA 67.9 Serious +7.5
San Luis Obispo County, CA 49.2 Normal -11.2
Santa Cruz County, CA 48.8 Normal -11.6
San Benito County, CA 47.0 Normal -13.4

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Monterey County
St. Lucie County, FL 60.6 Elevated +0.2
Hudson County, NJ 60.2 Elevated -0.2
Luzerne County, PA 60.9 Elevated +0.5
Montgomery County, OH 59.9 Elevated -0.5
Camden County, NJ 61.1 Elevated +0.7

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Monterey County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Monterey County

Find an Attorney

State Bar of California — Find a Lawyer offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

State Bar of California — Find a Lawyer 1-866-442-2529

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Monterey County residents at no cost.

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) 1-800-399-4529
Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) 1-800-433-6251
Bay Area Legal Aid 1-800-551-5554
Legal Services of Northern California 1-800-822-9687
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) 1-800-337-0690
Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS) 1-888-245-4257
Legal Aid Society of San Diego 1-877-534-2524
Community Legal Aid SoCal 1-800-834-5001
California Indian Legal Services, Inc. (760) 746-8941
Central California Legal Services (800) 675-8001
Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, Inc. (661) 325-5943

Self-Help Resources

California Courts Self-Help — Foreclosure and Mortgage Help Official California courts self-help resource with information on foreclosure procedures, homeowner rights, tenant protections in foreclosure, and links to free legal help.
LawHelpCA — Foreclosure Prevention Statewide legal aid directory connecting Californians with free legal information and local legal aid providers for foreclosure prevention, including links to self-help guides and intake forms.
California Attorney General — Homeowner Bill of Rights Official AG page explaining HBOR protections, including fact sheets on dual-tracking prohibition, single point of contact, and how to file a complaint about servicer violations.
DFPI Mortgage Relief Resources DFPI consumer resources for housing and mortgage issues, including information on PACE financing, foreclosure scam alerts, and how to file complaints against licensees.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Monterey County, California?

    Monterey County has a County Distress Index score of 60.4 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 804th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 24th in California out of 58 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Monterey County?

    The primary driver of distress in Monterey County is Housing Cost Burden, where the county scores 95.7 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Rent-Burdened (30%+), Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+), Mortgage-Burdened (30%+).

  • How does Monterey County compare to neighboring counties?

    Monterey County (60.4) can be compared to its 5 neighboring counties: Kings County, CA (69.8); Fresno County, CA (67.9); San Luis Obispo County, CA (49.2).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Monterey County?

    Monterey County, California has a population of approximately 430,723 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a large county.