About one in nine people in Yolo County, California, has a disability
In Yolo County, 11.5% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yolo County's score
In Yolo County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 97.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.2. About one in seven people with a credit file (14.2%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yolo 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, Yolo County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (32.0%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (29.3%, fiscal year 2027).
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 rent32.0% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.3% · fiscal year 202795th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.0% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
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- 28.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.4% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$87,386 · 202412th percentile
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- 26.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.2% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.2% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people89.3 · 202530th 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 Yolo 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 Yolo County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yolo County
California
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yolo County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Yolo County, California, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.3%; 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 Yolo County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 13.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 7.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yolo County, California.
How Yolo County has changed
Yolo County's population had its largest rise, from 165,269 in 1999 to 185,237 in 2004.
Yolo County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 225,251, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 206,833. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yolo County, California.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Yolo County nearly doubled to 109,634, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 98,819. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yolo County, California.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 17.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,781 | 2024 $87,386 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.7% 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 Yolo County's history
1850
Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 216,403, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in January 2023 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yolo County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yolo County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Yolo County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yolo County ranks 6th of the seven; Lake County is highest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, CA | 93 | 19.7% | 37.4% |
| Sutter County, CA | 69 | 12.6% | 25.6% |
| Solano County, CA | 61 | 10.1% | 21.5% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 59 | 12.0% | 22.9% |
| Colusa County, CA | 58 | 13.6% | 21.5% |
| Yolo County, CA | 46 | 17.4% | 17.3% |
| Napa County, CA | 30 | 7.8% | 14.5% |
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 Yolo County the poorest county in California?
No, Yolo County's poverty rate was 17.4% in 2024, 13th 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, Yolo County ranks 37th of 58 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yolo 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.
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 Yolo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.