About one in 10 people in Orange County, California, has a disability
In Orange County, 9.6% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Orange County's score
In Orange County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 96.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 16.3. The typical household earns $114,858 a year (2024), more than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Orange 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, Orange County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (31.9%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.5 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 rent28.4% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income31.9% · fiscal year 202798th percentile
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- 45.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 30.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.5% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people122.2 · 202548th percentile
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- 21.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.2% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 16.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability9.6% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$114,858 · 20242nd 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 Orange 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 Orange County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Orange County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Orange County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 12.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Orange County, California, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.5%; 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 Orange County getting SNAP food aid more than tripled to 8.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 8.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Orange County, California.
How Orange County has changed
Orange County's population had its largest rise, from 1,376,796 in 1969 to 1,669,064 in 1974.
Orange County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 3,170,435
High on the chart: 3,185,850 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Orange County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Orange County rose by about a third to 1,663,220, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 1,663,220 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Orange County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.2% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $39,592 | 2024 $114,858 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Orange County's history
1769
Mission San Juan Capistrano established in 1769. Wikipedia
1994
Orange County bankruptcy in 1994 costing 3,000 jobs and $1.64 billion in losses. Wikipedia
1997
A flash flood in December 1997 did $17.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in February 1998 did $29.7 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Heavy rain in February 2005 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in December 2010 did $36 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 3,186,989, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Orange County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Orange County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Orange County score higher than it does. Of the group, Orange County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; San Bernardino County gets the largest, at 23.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 81 | 12.6% | 23.6% |
| Riverside County, CA | 70 | 9.8% | 21.3% |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 66 | 13.3% | 20.4% |
| San Diego County, CA | 44 | 10.1% | 16.2% |
| Orange County, CA | 36 | 9.7% | 12.5% |
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 Orange County the poorest county in California?
No, Orange County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 47th 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, Orange County ranks 46th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Orange 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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Epicenter Foundation
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Greenpath Financial Wellness
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Homeownership OC
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Community Legal Aid SoCal
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 Orange 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 Orange County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.