About one in 15 people in Placer County, California, lives below the poverty line
In Placer County, 6.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Placer County's score
In Placer County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 82.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 4.8. The typical household earns $115,845 a year (2024), more than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Placer 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, Placer County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.1 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 rent28.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 48.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 32.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.0% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people145.9 · 202558th percentile
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- 10.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.0% · second quarter of 20264th percentile
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- 4.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.8% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.3% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance3.2% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$115,845 · 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 Placer 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 Placer County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Placer County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Placer County had its largest rise, from 9.6% in 2004 to 13.8% in 2009.
In Placer County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 15.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Placer County, California, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.1%; 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 Placer County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 5.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 3.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Placer County, California.
How Placer County has changed
Placer County's population had its largest rise, from 240,928 in 1999 to 302,841 in 2004.
Placer County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 433,822, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 88,238. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Placer County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Placer County tripled to 188,212, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 106,421. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Placer County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.8% | 2024 6.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,182 | 2024 $115,845 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Placer County's history
1848
Gold discovered in Auburn Ravine in May 1848. Wikipedia
1998
Heavy rain in January 1998 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 404,739, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in February 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in November 2024 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2026
Heavy rain in January 2026 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Placer County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Placer County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Placer County, in California and Nevada, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Placer County ranks 7th of the nine; Yuba County is highest, at 33.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuba County, CA | 75 | 13.5% | 33.0% |
| Sutter County, CA | 69 | 12.6% | 25.6% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 59 | 12.0% | 22.9% |
| Carson City, NV | 52 | 11.7% | 23.1% |
| Washoe County, NV | 51 | 9.4% | 13.5% |
| Nevada County, CA | 39 | 9.6% | 21.4% |
| El Dorado County, CA | 31 | 7.9% | 16.8% |
| Placer County, CA | 25 | 6.8% | 15.1% |
| Douglas County, NV | 23 | 8.2% | 14.9% |
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 Placer County the poorest county in California?
No, Placer County's poverty rate was 6.8% in 2024, the lowest 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, Placer County ranks 53rd of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Placer 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 Placer 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 Placer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.