About one in eight people with a credit file in San Luis Obispo County, California, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In San Luis Obispo County, 12.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives San Luis Obispo County's score
In San Luis Obispo County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 97.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.3. About three in ten people (28.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in San Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (32.8%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (28.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.1 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 rent28.8% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.8% · fiscal year 202798th percentile
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- 49.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
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- 24.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$99,646 · 20245th percentile
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- 20.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.1% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people94.8 · 202533rd percentile
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- 16.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th 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 Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
San Luis Obispo County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In San Luis Obispo County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 18.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In San Luis Obispo County, California, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.2%; 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 Luis Obispo County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 8.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 8.2%. 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 Luis Obispo County, California.
How San Luis Obispo County has changed
San Luis Obispo County's population had its largest rise, from 177,566 in 1984 to 213,314 in 1989.
San Luis Obispo County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 281,843
High on the chart: 282,594 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, San Luis Obispo County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in San Luis Obispo County nearly doubled to 121,634, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 95,249. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, San Luis Obispo County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.2% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,756 | 2024 $99,646 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Luis Obispo County's history
2004
Heavy rain in December 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Heavy rain in January 2005 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 282,424, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in January 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in January 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered San Luis Obispo County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
San Luis Obispo County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border San Luis Obispo County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, San Luis Obispo County ranks 3rd of the five; Kings County is highest, at 25.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 88 | 18.6% | 24.0% |
| Kings County, CA | 78 | 14.4% | 25.5% |
| Monterey County, CA | 59 | 13.7% | 17.1% |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 49 | 15.7% | 13.9% |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 35 | 12.6% | 18.2% |
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 Luis Obispo County the poorest county in California?
No, San Luis Obispo County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 33rd 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 Luis Obispo County ranks 47th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in San Luis Obispo 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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California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA)
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 Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.