In Santa Clara County, California, benefit checks make up only 7 cents of every dollar of income
In Santa Clara County, 7.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Santa Clara County's score
In Santa Clara County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 3.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Santa Clara 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.
Santa Clara County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.8 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 rent20.2% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 39.9 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 working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 11.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.8% · second quarter of 20262nd percentile
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- 9.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.7% · August 20253rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people62.8 · 202516th percentile
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- 3.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.1% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.7% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability9.0% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$166,984 · 20240th 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 Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Santa Clara County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Santa Clara County had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2004 to 9.9% in 2009.
In Santa Clara County, pay from work still brings in about ten times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Santa Clara County, California, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7.3%; 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 Santa Clara County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 6.6%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 6.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Santa Clara County, California.
How Santa Clara County has changed
Santa Clara County's population had its largest rise, from 1,765,137 in 2009 to 1,901,084 in 2014.
Santa Clara County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,926,325
High on the chart: 1,943,736 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Santa Clara County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Santa Clara County rose by about a third to 1,119,582, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 1,119,582 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Santa Clara County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.4% | 2024 7.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $44,316 | 2024 $166,984 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Santa Clara County's history
2010
A flood in January 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in February 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Hail in January 2017 did $5,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,936,259, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A flood in December 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Santa Clara County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Santa Clara County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Santa Clara County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Santa Clara County ranks 6th of the seven; Merced County is highest, at 28.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 86 | 18.4% | 28.5% |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 81 | 14.2% | 25.1% |
| San Benito County, CA | 45 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 39 | 11.9% | 15.0% |
| Alameda County, CA | 26 | 8.8% | 12.9% |
| San Mateo County, CA | 14 | 7.2% | 6.1% |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 12 | 7.1% | 7.3% |
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 Santa Clara County the poorest county in California?
No, Santa Clara County's poverty rate was 7.1% in 2024, 57th 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, Santa Clara County ranks 57th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Santa Clara 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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Project Sentinel
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 Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.