In San Francisco County, California, benefit checks make up only 9 cents of every dollar of income
In San Francisco County, 9.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives San Francisco County's score
In San Francisco County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 76.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 8.9. About one in 11 people with a credit file (9.2%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in San Francisco 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, San Francisco County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (32.3%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.5 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.3% · fiscal year 202798th percentile
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- 33.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance3.3% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$137,184 · 20240th percentile
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- 11.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.8% · second quarter of 20262nd percentile
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- 8.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.2% · August 20252nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.9 · 202515th 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco County, 17.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
San Francisco County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in San Francisco County had its largest drop, from 11.0% in 1994 to 8.1% in 1999.
In San Francisco County, pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In San Francisco County, California, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9.1%; 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 San Francisco County getting SNAP food aid grew to about four times its 2009 level, reaching 11.4%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 11.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, San Francisco County, California.
How San Francisco County has changed
San Francisco County's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 881,976 in 2019 to 827,526 in 2024.
San Francisco County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2019, reaching 881,976, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 881,976 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, San Francisco County, California.
The number of jobs located in San Francisco County had its largest rise, from 545,721 in 2010 to 674,646 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in San Francisco County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2005, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 524,940 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, San Francisco County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,166 | 2024 $137,184 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 San Francisco County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 873,965, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A thunderstorm in January 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered San Francisco County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
San Francisco County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border San Francisco County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, San Francisco County ranks 2nd of the four; Alameda County is highest, at 12.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 26 | 8.8% | 12.9% |
| Marin County, CA | 19 | 9.9% | 7.4% |
| San Francisco County, CA | 15 | 11.3% | 9.1% |
| San Mateo County, CA | 14 | 7.2% | 6.1% |
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 San Francisco County the poorest county in California?
No, San Francisco County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 39th 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, San Francisco County ranks 55th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in San Francisco 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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Asian Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Balance - San Francisco
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Balance-sf 3rd Street
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Bay Area Legal Aid
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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.