About one in nine people with a credit file in Santa Cruz County, California, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Santa Cruz County, 11.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Santa Cruz County's score
In Santa Cruz County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 95.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 15.1. About three in ten people (28.1%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Santa Cruz 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, Santa Cruz County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (48.4%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.5 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 rent26.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income48.4% · fiscal year 202799th percentile
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- 70.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
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- 20.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.9% · 202439th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$105,437 · 20244th percentile
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- 18.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.2% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people91.8 · 202531st percentile
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- 15.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.1% · second quarter of 20268th 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 Cruz 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 Cruz County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Santa Cruz County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Santa Cruz County had its largest rise, from 9.5% in 2004 to 13.1% in 2009.
In Santa Cruz County, pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Santa Cruz County, California, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.0%; 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 Cruz County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 9.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 6.1%. 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 Cruz County, California.
How Santa Cruz County has changed
Santa Cruz County's population had its largest rise, from 149,828 in 1974 to 184,041 in 1979.
Santa Cruz County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2019, reaching 272,910, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 272,910 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Santa Cruz County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Santa Cruz County rose 8% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 104,438 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Santa Cruz County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,892 | 2024 $105,437 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Cruz County's history
1998
A flash flood in February 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A storm surge/tide in October 1999 did $1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in March 2011 did $15.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Heavy rain in March 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 270,861, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Santa Cruz County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Santa Cruz County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Santa Cruz County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Santa Cruz County ranks 3rd of the five; Monterey County is highest, at 17.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 59 | 13.7% | 17.1% |
| San Benito County, CA | 45 | 8.7% | 15.5% |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 39 | 11.9% | 15.0% |
| 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 Cruz County the poorest county in California?
No, Santa Cruz County's poverty rate was 11.9% in 2024, 37th 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 Cruz County ranks 44th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz 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 Cruz County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.