Most cash-strapped cities in California (2026)

Zebra Finance Cash Strain Index · Published 2026-10-25 · Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024

Clearlake is the most cash-strapped city in California on our Cash Strain Index, followed by East Bakersfield, Lamont. We ranked all 493 California cities with 10,000+ residents on rent burden, low household incomes, poverty and unemployment. Piedmont ranks as the least strained.

All 493 California cities ranked

Rank	City	Score	Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent	Households under $35k	Poverty rate	Unemployment rate	Rent as % of median income
1	Clearlake	99.8	74.2%	41.2%	25.5%	14.8%	35.5%
2	East Bakersfield	99.7	56.7%	42.0%	42.6%	13.0%	33.8%
3	Lamont	99.4	61.2%	47.1%	35.4%	10.0%	32.0%
4	Westmont	99.2	68.6%	38.4%	25.3%	11.1%	34.8%
5	California City	99.1	67.0%	28.4%	22.8%	18.7%	26.0%
6	Arcata	99.1	62.4%	38.0%	27.2%	11.9%	34.1%
7	Arvin	99.0	59.7%	34.4%	34.6%	14.0%	27.4%
8	Calexico	98.9	59.8%	32.0%	19.7%	19.4%	26.3%
9	Lindsay	98.9	48.9%	36.9%	33.1%	17.8%	22.8%
10	East Niles	98.8	69.5%	35.8%	28.7%	12.6%	27.2%
11	Lemon Hill	98.8	64.5%	35.8%	32.0%	8.7%	35.0%
12	Laguna Woods	98.7	75.7%	28.6%	14.2%	7.3%	47.1%
13	Cudahy	98.5	61.3%	29.9%	28.7%	10.1%	36.3%
14	Hillcrest	98.4	60.3%	39.8%	31.4%	8.7%	32.6%
15	Oildale	97.8	56.6%	34.0%	25.2%	11.6%	30.0%
16	San Luis Obispo	97.5	67.0%	28.6%	30.4%	7.0%	32.0%
17	El Cajon	97.3	70.1%	25.9%	20.5%	9.6%	33.0%
18	Grass Valley	97.2	63.6%	36.4%	22.1%	7.4%	33.8%
19	Madera	97.0	60.3%	28.2%	25.6%	12.6%	25.4%
20	Willowbrook	96.6	61.2%	30.7%	18.3%	11.3%	30.1%
21	Lake Los Angeles	96.2	75.0%	25.2%	18.9%	8.7%	29.9%
22	Mendota	95.8	49.8%	34.2%	27.5%	11.5%	24.8%
23	Dinuba	95.8	57.2%	32.5%	26.8%	10.6%	24.4%
24	Anderson	95.7	69.3%	40.8%	21.2%	7.5%	24.4%
25	Parlier	95.6	54.8%	34.2%	27.1%	10.0%	25.3%
26	Reedley	95.5	56.1%	27.1%	22.3%	13.4%	24.4%
27	Marysville	95.4	56.9%	33.5%	24.5%	9.2%	27.5%
28	Barstow	95.3	52.6%	34.0%	23.1%	11.9%	24.5%
29	Merced	95.1	55.1%	27.9%	23.9%	11.3%	26.5%
30	Potomac Park	95.0	50.5%	31.6%	20.9%	11.4%	28.6%
31	Davis	94.9	68.6%	26.3%	26.5%	6.3%	29.1%
32	Desert Hot Springs	94.8	64.7%	34.3%	18.0%	6.6%	32.1%
33	Brawley	94.8	49.0%	32.1%	21.3%	15.5%	20.0%
34	Banning	94.8	61.8%	29.1%	18.8%	8.2%	32.1%
35	Bell	94.5	64.0%	29.6%	21.6%	6.9%	31.0%
36	McFarland	93.8	61.3%	33.9%	24.1%	7.9%	24.9%
37	Phelan	93.6	77.6%	17.2%	12.7%	12.9%	22.9%
38	Hemet	93.6	62.2%	29.4%	14.9%	8.0%	32.7%
39	Huntington Park	93.6	57.2%	28.4%	18.3%	9.5%	30.1%
40	Big Bear City	93.5	59.9%	25.6%	16.1%	9.8%	31.1%
41	Atwater	93.1	53.4%	27.7%	21.0%	12.3%	23.8%
42	South El Monte	93.0	65.9%	26.1%	20.9%	7.4%	28.8%
43	Victorville	93.0	61.7%	23.4%	18.4%	11.1%	26.1%
44	Country Club	92.9	70.3%	19.6%	15.4%	10.4%	27.2%
45	Parkway	92.8	55.1%	25.8%	22.5%	9.3%	28.3%
46	Eureka	92.7	60.9%	29.0%	18.1%	10.3%	24.9%
47	Florence-Graham	92.3	60.6%	23.6%	20.1%	9.2%	28.0%
48	Sun Village	92.2	78.5%	23.3%	15.5%	6.1%	29.1%
49	Selma	92.1	46.9%	27.4%	19.0%	13.3%	24.5%
50	Valle Vista	91.9	58.9%	24.0%	16.7%	8.7%	31.2%
51	Kerman	91.7	49.4%	32.9%	21.3%	10.4%	24.5%
52	Chico	91.7	62.2%	29.1%	22.7%	6.8%	26.7%
53	El Centro	91.7	54.0%	31.3%	21.6%	9.9%	23.8%
54	Corcoran	91.5	49.0%	33.2%	20.7%	11.1%	23.2%
55	North Highlands	91.5	64.4%	26.2%	19.6%	6.3%	30.0%
56	Winton	91.5	56.8%	28.7%	14.0%	12.1%	24.3%
57	Adelanto	91.4	57.6%	22.7%	17.2%	11.8%	25.1%
58	Ukiah	91.2	58.6%	31.5%	17.9%	9.6%	24.1%
59	Foothill Farms	91.0	63.2%	25.8%	17.6%	7.1%	29.8%
60	Inglewood	90.7	63.9%	24.5%	14.6%	8.3%	29.5%
61	Los Banos	90.6	59.7%	26.3%	17.4%	8.9%	27.4%
62	Oroville	90.5	56.0%	33.6%	21.4%	7.7%	25.1%
63	Maywood	90.5	56.1%	25.9%	19.4%	7.8%	30.0%
64	Lynwood	90.2	60.7%	21.5%	18.0%	9.8%	26.5%
65	Muscoy	90.1	61.9%	21.8%	26.7%	5.1%	29.3%
66	Bell Gardens	90.0	56.3%	26.3%	20.0%	5.9%	32.6%
67	Delano	90.0	51.3%	25.6%	16.0%	13.9%	21.5%
68	Farmersville	89.9	61.5%	29.3%	22.9%	8.0%	22.0%
69	Blythe	89.6	54.3%	30.1%	18.9%	11.7%	19.9%
70	Yucca Valley	89.3	66.7%	25.2%	15.7%	6.6%	28.8%
71	Seaside	89.3	65.3%	18.6%	16.0%	5.9%	33.9%
72	Westminster	89.2	64.2%	23.4%	14.4%	7.2%	30.4%
73	Fresno	89.0	58.0%	26.4%	20.1%	8.9%	24.0%
74	Red Bluff	89.0	58.5%	30.5%	18.8%	7.2%	26.1%
75	West Puente Valley	88.9	69.8%	17.6%	13.2%	6.8%	31.8%
76	Wasco	88.9	60.8%	31.2%	18.4%	7.0%	25.3%
77	Los Angeles	88.7	59.3%	23.7%	16.5%	8.2%	28.3%
78	Glendale	88.6	62.3%	22.7%	12.9%	8.3%	29.6%
79	Bostonia	88.5	61.3%	19.8%	13.6%	7.9%	31.8%
80	Lennox	88.5	55.3%	27.6%	16.4%	6.6%	31.5%
81	Ashland	88.5	60.6%	23.1%	16.4%	6.7%	31.0%
82	West Rancho Dominguez	88.3	62.3%	18.7%	15.0%	11.4%	23.4%
83	Montclair	88.2	62.8%	21.7%	17.7%	6.8%	29.2%
84	Hesperia	88.0	59.3%	20.9%	16.9%	9.3%	26.4%
85	El Monte	87.9	58.0%	25.1%	17.4%	6.3%	30.6%
86	Porterville	87.7	54.6%	28.1%	17.3%	10.1%	22.8%
87	National City	87.7	60.1%	25.7%	14.6%	6.6%	30.4%
88	Avenal	87.5	48.7%	20.6%	19.2%	12.7%	22.3%
89	San Jacinto	87.5	68.3%	18.5%	16.1%	8.9%	24.0%
90	San Bernardino	87.2	63.0%	25.4%	18.6%	6.1%	26.8%
91	King City	87.2	64.3%	19.2%	23.0%	5.4%	27.6%
92	Chowchilla	87.1	51.1%	27.6%	19.6%	10.6%	21.3%
93	Port Hueneme	86.6	58.3%	18.1%	11.4%	10.1%	28.9%
94	Palmdale	86.5	64.0%	19.0%	15.7%	8.3%	26.4%
95	Arden-Arcade	86.4	59.9%	23.4%	16.9%	8.6%	24.6%
96	Hawthorne	86.3	58.9%	21.7%	15.5%	7.9%	28.2%
97	Bay Point	86.0	51.5%	17.1%	14.4%	10.1%	30.0%
98	Oakdale	85.7	58.2%	24.1%	14.8%	10.2%	22.5%
99	Palm Springs	85.6	64.0%	26.6%	11.8%	7.7%	25.6%
100	Compton	85.4	57.5%	22.8%	17.9%	8.0%	25.4%
101	Delhi	85.3	47.1%	27.0%	15.5%	11.5%	22.6%
102	Santa Maria	85.2	61.0%	19.1%	17.3%	7.3%	27.3%
103	Apple Valley	85.1	63.1%	22.1%	16.6%	7.5%	24.8%
104	Ceres	85.1	54.4%	19.9%	15.9%	10.2%	24.9%
105	San Pablo	84.7	56.4%	17.8%	12.6%	8.5%	30.5%
106	Garden Acres	84.7	50.3%	19.6%	18.9%	10.3%	24.4%
107	Lancaster	84.7	61.3%	22.0%	15.6%	7.5%	26.0%
108	Watsonville	84.5	55.1%	22.0%	14.7%	7.7%	28.9%
109	Lawndale	84.4	57.8%	16.9%	13.0%	9.7%	27.2%
110	Rosamond	84.3	58.4%	22.1%	17.1%	9.1%	22.6%
111	Calabasas	84.2	73.4%	13.3%	8.8%	10.6%	22.4%
112	Diamond Springs	84.1	55.6%	25.3%	15.6%	7.7%	26.1%
113	Tulare	83.9	56.0%	22.5%	17.9%	8.6%	23.8%
114	East Hemet	83.8	57.8%	22.6%	18.8%	7.6%	24.2%
115	Rosemead	83.8	60.1%	23.5%	13.7%	5.8%	29.9%
116	Highland	83.2	67.4%	18.2%	17.1%	6.2%	25.3%
117	Lompoc	83.1	54.0%	24.8%	17.3%	7.0%	26.5%
118	McKinleyville	82.8	60.7%	19.0%	14.2%	7.9%	26.3%
119	Bellflower	82.8	57.9%	20.9%	13.3%	7.6%	27.9%
120	Lemoore	82.6	48.3%	15.8%	15.1%	13.1%	22.3%
121	Livingston	82.5	47.0%	22.4%	17.1%	11.6%	21.2%
122	Palm Desert	82.5	65.1%	22.4%	11.0%	6.4%	27.5%
123	Florin	82.3	51.1%	24.7%	15.7%	7.5%	27.4%
124	Los Alamitos	82.1	62.8%	12.0%	8.9%	9.2%	29.2%
125	Stanton	82.1	58.3%	20.2%	13.3%	7.2%	28.3%
126	Pittsburg	82.0	65.9%	16.3%	11.2%	7.6%	27.2%
127	Monterey Park	81.8	61.0%	24.2%	12.4%	6.1%	27.7%
128	Vallejo	81.7	61.6%	18.7%	12.2%	7.4%	27.6%
129	Discovery Bay	81.7	75.9%	12.5%	7.4%	8.6%	24.7%
130	Imperial Beach	81.6	60.0%	16.8%	14.8%	7.1%	28.0%
131	Colton	81.5	56.9%	19.5%	13.7%	7.5%	28.0%
132	Pomona	81.4	60.4%	20.3%	14.3%	6.6%	27.3%
133	Fortuna	81.1	51.3%	31.3%	18.2%	7.0%	22.5%
134	Menifee	81.1	70.6%	17.8%	9.5%	6.5%	27.1%
135	Stockton	80.9	55.6%	21.5%	15.5%	8.6%	23.7%
136	Newman	80.8	59.6%	16.4%	12.2%	11.0%	21.6%
137	Antioch	80.8	63.5%	15.8%	11.4%	7.4%	28.0%
138	East Rancho Dominguez	80.6	53.4%	23.4%	15.1%	6.6%	28.0%
139	Cathedral City	80.1	63.1%	22.7%	13.1%	6.0%	26.1%
140	Montebello	80.0	60.3%	19.4%	12.1%	7.1%	27.4%
141	Seal Beach	79.9	54.3%	23.3%	6.7%	4.7%	37.0%
142	East Los Angeles	79.9	50.2%	25.4%	17.3%	6.8%	26.1%
143	North Fair Oaks	79.6	59.3%	14.8%	13.0%	8.4%	26.5%
144	Burbank	79.4	59.4%	20.5%	10.7%	7.4%	27.1%
145	Santa Paula	79.1	59.1%	19.5%	14.2%	6.8%	26.3%
146	Rowland Heights	78.5	59.8%	20.5%	12.4%	6.1%	27.6%
147	Santa Cruz	78.4	54.0%	19.2%	17.0%	7.2%	25.5%
148	Ontario	78.4	62.7%	17.2%	12.4%	6.3%	27.4%
149	Placerville	78.3	65.0%	29.2%	15.9%	4.3%	22.0%
150	Sanger	78.1	60.0%	20.4%	15.8%	9.1%	18.7%
151	Lakeland Village	77.9	70.1%	16.9%	10.9%	5.7%	26.0%
152	Richmond	77.9	56.1%	18.4%	13.5%	8.3%	24.7%
153	Walnut Park	77.7	57.8%	18.6%	17.1%	7.8%	22.2%
154	Paramount	77.5	58.7%	16.9%	12.6%	5.7%	29.9%
155	Baldwin Park	77.5	57.3%	19.9%	13.5%	6.0%	27.8%
156	Loma Linda	77.3	58.1%	21.3%	12.3%	6.2%	27.0%
157	San Fernando	77.3	68.7%	15.8%	9.9%	6.7%	25.3%
158	Moreno Valley	77.2	61.4%	14.1%	11.7%	7.1%	27.5%
159	Grand Terrace	77.1	63.9%	16.0%	7.5%	6.7%	29.0%
160	Modesto	76.7	57.4%	19.0%	13.3%	7.2%	25.4%
161	Anaheim	76.1	60.5%	18.4%	12.4%	5.8%	27.4%
162	Hawaiian Gardens	75.9	54.1%	24.4%	16.3%	4.8%	26.7%
163	South Gate	75.8	54.4%	22.4%	12.7%	7.4%	24.6%
164	Rialto	75.7	58.6%	18.7%	12.7%	7.7%	23.8%
165	Spring Valley	75.7	58.7%	11.4%	9.5%	10.5%	23.8%
166	Long Beach	75.6	55.6%	19.6%	14.8%	6.5%	25.7%
167	El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)	75.6	60.1%	18.3%	13.1%	6.3%	25.8%
168	Santa Fe Springs	75.5	60.3%	22.9%	13.0%	4.3%	27.6%
169	West Hollywood	75.4	44.6%	22.3%	12.9%	8.9%	25.9%
170	Suisun City	75.4	53.8%	19.0%	8.4%	8.4%	27.3%
171	Vista	75.2	59.6%	15.6%	10.5%	6.6%	28.4%
172	Bakersfield	75.0	56.8%	21.3%	16.3%	7.0%	21.9%
173	Rancho Mirage	75.0	67.4%	17.7%	11.7%	9.4%	16.9%
174	Coalinga	75.0	37.4%	23.1%	21.7%	11.4%	17.4%
175	Carmichael	74.6	59.3%	18.7%	12.6%	7.3%	23.8%
176	Hanford	74.5	49.6%	22.6%	14.5%	9.5%	20.5%
177	Fountain Valley	74.1	68.7%	15.2%	8.0%	5.6%	27.4%
178	Chula Vista	73.9	62.2%	15.4%	8.7%	8.0%	24.8%
179	Garden Grove	73.8	59.7%	18.2%	12.3%	6.0%	26.2%
180	Escondido	73.5	62.2%	20.1%	12.2%	4.7%	26.7%
181	Fullerton	73.5	62.4%	16.1%	12.3%	6.3%	25.2%
182	Lodi	73.5	54.3%	17.7%	12.4%	8.9%	22.8%
183	Diamond Bar	73.3	65.1%	16.8%	10.0%	4.9%	27.9%
184	La Mesa	73.2	60.8%	17.4%	11.5%	6.2%	25.9%
185	Santa Barbara	73.1	55.7%	17.5%	14.0%	5.8%	27.3%
186	Berkeley	73.1	55.7%	20.8%	17.3%	5.6%	23.7%
187	Fairfield	73.0	65.0%	14.9%	10.2%	5.8%	26.7%
188	Rosemont	72.9	56.4%	19.6%	16.6%	5.6%	24.4%
189	Riverbank	72.8	54.8%	18.9%	12.8%	8.6%	21.9%
190	Emeryville	72.5	49.2%	15.3%	13.8%	6.4%	30.1%
191	Sacramento	72.5	55.9%	19.4%	13.9%	6.6%	24.4%
192	Rancho San Diego	72.4	62.8%	11.7%	10.1%	7.1%	26.5%
193	Coachella	72.3	53.0%	25.6%	10.2%	9.1%	20.0%
194	Healdsburg	72.3	54.0%	18.0%	11.6%	7.8%	25.0%
195	Temescal Valley	72.0	77.7%	11.7%	4.5%	4.3%	28.9%
196	Beverly Hills	72.0	54.6%	16.8%	9.6%	8.3%	25.5%
197	Artesia	71.8	48.1%	14.3%	9.4%	10.0%	26.4%
198	Shasta Lake	71.8	48.2%	26.9%	13.3%	7.2%	23.1%
199	Sonoma	71.6	63.7%	14.1%	10.4%	5.7%	27.1%
200	Pico Rivera	71.2	65.4%	21.1%	10.3%	4.9%	24.3%
201	Yuba City	71.0	52.8%	21.1%	14.3%	7.0%	23.1%
202	Camarillo	70.7	62.5%	14.0%	8.5%	5.5%	28.9%
203	Perris	70.7	57.5%	13.0%	10.7%	7.9%	25.3%
204	Antelope	70.6	51.3%	14.1%	10.6%	8.5%	26.5%
205	Riverside	70.4	58.6%	16.5%	12.2%	6.3%	25.2%
206	Turlock	70.3	52.3%	18.9%	11.3%	8.4%	23.3%
207	Cherryland	70.3	58.0%	14.8%	9.7%	5.5%	29.7%
208	La Verne	69.8	55.0%	17.9%	8.5%	7.1%	26.8%
209	Laguna Hills	69.6	67.4%	13.3%	7.8%	6.2%	25.4%
210	Chino	69.4	63.1%	12.9%	8.0%	6.5%	26.8%
211	La Puente	69.4	55.5%	19.2%	11.3%	6.2%	25.6%
212	West Covina	69.2	57.0%	15.8%	10.0%	6.5%	26.7%
213	Bloomington	69.1	54.4%	16.8%	15.6%	6.4%	23.7%
214	Lemon Grove	68.9	61.8%	17.7%	9.2%	5.6%	25.8%
215	Citrus	68.9	66.4%	8.8%	7.7%	6.5%	27.2%
216	Gardena	68.8	55.4%	18.4%	11.8%	6.1%	25.6%
217	Novato	68.7	65.4%	11.8%	9.6%	5.9%	26.0%
218	Rio Vista	68.4	43.2%	16.7%	10.3%	10.9%	23.2%
219	Shafter	68.3	49.6%	21.2%	20.7%	5.8%	21.1%
220	Oceanside	68.2	61.3%	14.9%	8.3%	5.3%	28.3%
221	Rancho Cordova	68.1	53.3%	17.3%	12.2%	7.3%	23.9%
222	Citrus Heights	68.0	56.1%	16.6%	8.6%	6.7%	26.6%
223	Pinole	67.8	76.3%	12.1%	6.9%	4.2%	25.4%
224	Avocado Heights	67.7	59.6%	13.5%	11.5%	5.9%	25.9%
225	San Dimas	67.3	66.5%	14.1%	9.9%	4.6%	26.0%
226	Pasadena	67.1	52.9%	18.4%	13.3%	5.6%	25.8%
227	Redding	66.8	52.3%	23.6%	14.1%	5.3%	23.5%
228	North Auburn	66.7	51.5%	20.8%	11.1%	4.3%	29.4%
229	Alhambra	66.6	52.5%	19.5%	12.6%	5.3%	26.4%
230	Susanville	66.6	35.9%	29.5%	17.6%	9.3%	17.6%
231	Commerce	66.5	54.7%	28.0%	12.4%	3.9%	24.1%
232	Exeter	66.3	44.2%	19.2%	14.2%	9.6%	20.4%
233	La Presa	66.3	55.8%	13.9%	9.9%	8.0%	23.8%
234	Linda	66.3	49.3%	21.7%	17.2%	7.0%	20.0%
235	Azusa	66.3	53.7%	16.6%	13.2%	6.1%	25.0%
236	Salida	66.2	45.7%	16.9%	8.2%	8.9%	26.3%
237	Oxnard	66.1	57.2%	13.9%	11.0%	6.5%	25.3%
238	American Canyon	66.0	62.4%	15.6%	9.3%	5.6%	25.0%
239	Oakland	65.9	51.1%	20.4%	13.4%	6.4%	23.4%
240	Chino Hills	65.8	59.7%	9.9%	7.6%	6.9%	27.5%
241	Monterey	65.8	56.1%	14.0%	9.8%	6.0%	27.5%
242	Lake Elsinore	65.5	61.7%	13.7%	9.4%	6.3%	24.5%
243	Tustin	65.5	61.6%	13.6%	9.9%	5.4%	26.1%
244	Mead Valley	65.5	53.8%	10.5%	9.6%	7.8%	26.6%
245	La Habra	65.2	52.6%	14.7%	10.9%	7.1%	25.5%
246	Pacific Grove	65.2	59.0%	15.1%	7.6%	5.5%	27.8%
247	San Marcos	64.5	63.5%	15.7%	9.2%	4.6%	25.8%
248	Walnut	64.4	61.5%	13.0%	10.1%	3.5%	29.7%
249	Live Oak	64.3	54.8%	16.4%	12.9%	4.1%	28.0%
250	Culver City	64.2	52.7%	15.3%	7.5%	6.6%	28.0%
251	San Diego	64.0	54.7%	15.5%	11.0%	6.0%	25.7%
252	San Gabriel	64.0	50.7%	20.8%	10.6%	5.9%	25.4%
253	Hercules	63.9	59.6%	12.5%	5.6%	6.4%	27.7%
254	Santa Rosa	63.9	54.9%	14.9%	9.7%	6.3%	26.1%
255	Salinas	63.8	54.3%	16.8%	13.6%	4.7%	26.0%
256	Marina	63.7	49.1%	18.1%	12.2%	5.9%	26.3%
257	Tehachapi	63.2	46.8%	25.4%	13.9%	6.4%	21.3%
258	Rohnert Park	63.1	56.1%	14.1%	10.5%	5.1%	27.5%
259	Carpinteria	62.8	65.0%	14.9%	7.0%	3.6%	28.3%
260	West Carson	62.4	58.7%	18.2%	8.7%	5.4%	24.5%
261	Downey	61.8	57.9%	14.2%	9.0%	5.8%	25.6%
262	Monrovia	61.7	54.9%	16.5%	10.3%	5.1%	26.4%
263	Irvine	61.6	52.9%	14.4%	10.8%	5.9%	26.3%
264	Lakeside	61.3	52.1%	14.9%	9.9%	6.8%	25.1%
265	Temple City	61.0	55.1%	16.2%	8.7%	6.4%	24.5%
266	Stevenson Ranch	60.9	64.3%	8.5%	4.2%	9.1%	21.5%
267	Yucaipa	60.8	53.1%	18.7%	9.1%	7.0%	22.6%
268	Auburn	60.8	59.9%	20.8%	13.0%	4.0%	21.8%
269	San Leandro	60.8	55.6%	17.8%	8.3%	5.3%	25.9%
270	Norwalk	60.6	57.0%	14.8%	9.3%	5.7%	25.1%
271	Ventura	60.5	57.5%	15.5%	10.4%	4.8%	25.6%
272	San Rafael	60.5	57.8%	14.3%	11.7%	5.4%	23.9%
273	Santa Monica	60.5	44.6%	19.8%	11.2%	6.7%	25.1%
274	Wildomar	60.4	49.7%	15.4%	10.6%	7.7%	23.2%
275	Coronado	60.4	61.7%	12.7%	4.7%	4.7%	29.1%
276	Manteca	60.2	55.4%	14.5%	9.5%	5.8%	25.5%
277	Malibu	60.2	53.7%	15.9%	12.6%	6.7%	21.6%
278	Clayton	60.0	73.5%	6.3%	2.5%	6.7%	23.9%
279	Vineyard	60.0	59.7%	11.5%	11.6%	5.6%	23.8%
280	Hayward	59.8	54.1%	13.6%	9.6%	6.3%	25.3%
281	Corona	59.7	60.2%	13.9%	8.7%	5.5%	24.5%
282	Jurupa Valley	59.6	58.9%	17.3%	11.0%	5.7%	21.4%
283	Lomita	59.6	52.1%	18.1%	13.0%	4.6%	25.1%
284	Napa	59.5	56.4%	14.3%	8.5%	5.7%	25.8%
285	Grover Beach	59.5	51.3%	14.7%	11.8%	4.3%	28.6%
286	Rancho Cucamonga	59.4	58.1%	13.5%	8.0%	5.9%	25.3%
287	Indio	59.4	57.9%	19.4%	11.5%	4.8%	22.3%
288	South San Jose Hills	59.3	47.4%	12.1%	11.6%	8.2%	23.8%
289	Santa Ana	59.1	53.6%	15.5%	10.8%	4.8%	26.6%
290	Soquel	59.0	49.6%	16.7%	9.7%	7.6%	22.9%
291	West Sacramento	59.0	51.4%	20.3%	12.8%	6.0%	21.4%
292	Vacaville	58.7	60.7%	11.6%	8.2%	5.8%	24.8%
293	Whittier	58.4	59.5%	15.6%	9.1%	5.4%	23.5%
294	Concord	58.1	59.3%	13.5%	8.2%	5.4%	25.1%
295	Santee	57.8	64.7%	14.0%	7.9%	4.7%	23.8%
296	Altadena	57.8	60.9%	14.2%	7.9%	6.4%	22.0%
297	Morro Bay	57.7	49.5%	15.1%	8.4%	8.0%	23.3%
298	Laguna Niguel	57.3	57.7%	10.3%	6.4%	7.1%	24.8%
299	Kingsburg	57.3	47.3%	23.1%	10.8%	7.3%	19.9%
300	Carson	57.3	52.9%	15.1%	8.7%	7.8%	21.6%
301	Visalia	57.1	50.2%	17.0%	11.5%	6.9%	21.8%
302	Orangevale	57.1	59.8%	14.0%	10.4%	5.1%	23.2%
303	Simi Valley	57.1	63.6%	11.8%	6.4%	5.0%	25.4%
304	East San Gabriel	56.9	51.6%	16.0%	11.6%	6.7%	21.8%
305	La Quinta	56.7	55.1%	14.4%	8.8%	7.3%	21.6%
306	Covina	56.6	52.1%	14.9%	8.9%	6.9%	23.5%
307	Murrieta	56.6	58.6%	10.7%	5.4%	6.8%	25.1%
308	Arcadia	56.4	58.5%	14.5%	8.6%	5.7%	23.2%
309	Santa Clarita	56.2	60.1%	11.7%	7.4%	5.6%	24.8%
310	Duarte	56.2	52.9%	19.0%	8.4%	5.6%	23.9%
311	Lathrop	56.1	47.4%	10.8%	7.1%	9.0%	24.4%
312	Rio Linda	56.0	54.7%	15.6%	14.4%	4.4%	22.9%
313	Hacienda Heights	55.5	51.6%	14.5%	11.3%	5.1%	25.3%
314	El Sobrante	55.4	55.7%	13.4%	11.4%	5.4%	23.2%
315	Placentia	55.2	57.4%	13.1%	7.9%	5.5%	24.7%
316	Daly City	54.9	57.7%	13.3%	7.7%	5.3%	24.8%
317	San Anselmo	54.9	61.3%	14.3%	7.4%	7.0%	19.3%
318	Olivehurst	54.5	48.8%	18.4%	10.6%	7.8%	19.1%
319	Lake Arrowhead	54.5	58.0%	16.0%	11.1%	3.9%	23.6%
320	East Palo Alto	54.4	57.9%	12.0%	10.3%	5.1%	23.7%
321	Atascadero	53.8	53.2%	15.3%	11.4%	4.6%	24.3%
322	Laguna Beach	53.5	61.4%	11.8%	6.1%	5.0%	24.9%
323	Brentwood	53.3	59.3%	10.6%	8.3%	5.8%	23.2%
324	Fontana	53.2	53.6%	14.3%	9.9%	6.5%	21.5%
325	Benicia	52.8	61.4%	15.7%	7.6%	4.5%	22.6%
326	Lake Forest	52.5	62.3%	9.4%	8.5%	4.9%	23.7%
327	Costa Mesa	52.4	53.1%	12.8%	9.1%	4.7%	26.3%
328	Thousand Oaks	52.1	56.0%	12.7%	8.9%	5.4%	23.6%
329	Glendora	52.1	54.9%	12.6%	7.3%	6.1%	23.8%
330	Fillmore	52.0	63.5%	15.3%	7.0%	3.4%	24.1%
331	La Crescenta-Montrose	51.7	54.8%	12.7%	5.1%	8.1%	21.1%
332	La Riviera	51.5	54.0%	13.2%	10.8%	5.5%	22.6%
333	Winter Gardens	51.3	54.5%	14.1%	9.3%	5.2%	23.4%
334	Carlsbad	51.0	56.6%	13.4%	6.9%	5.5%	23.6%
335	Buena Park	50.9	53.2%	12.8%	8.8%	5.6%	23.9%
336	Lincoln	50.7	64.8%	13.0%	6.9%	4.2%	22.4%
337	Petaluma	50.6	57.4%	12.8%	6.5%	4.6%	25.4%
338	La Mirada	50.5	59.7%	16.0%	6.2%	3.9%	24.3%
339	Torrance	50.4	52.9%	13.0%	7.8%	6.0%	23.5%
340	Fallbrook	50.2	54.6%	11.5%	11.9%	5.2%	22.2%
341	Prunedale	50.1	44.3%	15.8%	11.1%	8.5%	18.7%
342	Temecula	49.9	57.5%	10.7%	7.3%	5.7%	23.3%
343	Bonita	49.9	65.3%	8.5%	7.5%	4.8%	22.4%
344	Imperial	49.8	44.5%	18.7%	12.5%	8.2%	16.7%
345	Huntington Beach	49.7	52.4%	12.8%	7.8%	5.4%	24.9%
346	Upland	49.7	52.4%	14.5%	9.3%	5.4%	23.0%
347	South Whittier	49.5	53.8%	14.7%	10.6%	4.7%	22.7%
348	Cypress	49.1	55.5%	15.0%	6.6%	5.4%	22.9%
349	Orange	49.1	53.5%	13.1%	9.5%	4.9%	23.8%
350	Woodland	49.0	51.9%	18.1%	8.2%	5.8%	21.1%
351	Truckee	48.5	54.9%	16.5%	9.0%	6.6%	18.0%
352	Vincent	48.1	49.9%	10.6%	6.7%	6.6%	24.7%
353	Arroyo Grande	47.9	63.1%	14.5%	4.8%	2.9%	25.4%
354	Alpine	47.7	61.6%	11.1%	13.0%	3.0%	21.8%
355	Agoura Hills	47.5	61.1%	9.9%	6.5%	5.2%	22.5%
356	Walnut Creek	47.3	51.0%	11.7%	6.4%	6.0%	24.7%
357	Mission Viejo	47.3	57.7%	9.1%	5.6%	5.2%	25.0%
358	La Palma	47.1	64.6%	12.6%	5.0%	3.9%	23.0%
359	Larkspur	46.5	53.0%	13.0%	7.0%	4.4%	25.6%
360	Clovis	46.4	53.2%	14.2%	8.0%	5.6%	21.7%
361	Galt	46.4	53.3%	14.8%	8.0%	6.1%	20.3%
362	Orcutt	46.1	58.2%	13.6%	8.0%	3.6%	23.6%
363	South Lake Tahoe	46.1	51.7%	18.1%	9.3%	3.6%	23.5%
364	Tracy	45.9	52.2%	9.5%	7.8%	5.5%	24.6%
365	Soledad	45.8	52.9%	15.1%	16.7%	2.7%	21.0%
366	Claremont	45.6	57.1%	13.8%	6.9%	5.1%	21.4%
367	Elk Grove	45.3	52.6%	10.5%	8.0%	6.4%	21.6%
368	Redlands	45.1	48.2%	14.2%	9.1%	5.5%	22.9%
369	Dana Point	44.9	52.6%	11.8%	7.2%	4.0%	26.3%
370	Roseville	43.7	57.3%	12.8%	5.9%	5.2%	21.5%
371	Ridgecrest	43.5	40.6%	20.8%	12.5%	7.6%	15.9%
372	Ladera Ranch	43.4	68.9%	7.1%	4.2%	4.3%	21.8%
373	El Cerrito	43.3	49.8%	11.0%	6.9%	5.8%	23.9%
374	Lakewood	43.2	53.1%	12.4%	5.8%	5.2%	23.6%
375	Beaumont	42.8	55.0%	15.2%	10.0%	4.9%	18.8%
376	Gilroy	42.7	53.4%	11.6%	6.7%	6.3%	20.7%
377	Ramona	42.6	57.7%	17.8%	6.2%	4.1%	20.4%
378	Palos Verdes Estates	42.3	79.4%	7.8%	2.9%	4.7%	16.0%
379	Newport Beach	42.2	52.2%	11.3%	6.6%	4.3%	25.4%
380	Oak Park	42.1	48.5%	11.3%	4.2%	7.0%	23.2%
381	Rocklin	41.9	59.6%	11.8%	5.6%	4.5%	21.8%
382	West Whittier-Los Nietos	41.7	52.3%	13.1%	11.0%	4.6%	20.6%
383	San Francisco	41.6	39.6%	17.6%	11.2%	6.1%	21.1%
384	Los Osos	41.3	48.5%	14.6%	8.1%	5.1%	22.5%
385	Union City	40.8	47.1%	12.2%	7.2%	5.3%	24.3%
386	Hollister	40.8	54.1%	10.9%	7.9%	5.6%	20.5%
387	Castaic	40.7	72.6%	10.3%	5.1%	4.4%	16.4%
388	Millbrae	40.6	49.5%	10.3%	6.0%	5.7%	24.0%
389	View Park-Windsor Hills	40.3	40.6%	15.4%	7.1%	8.2%	19.6%
390	San Bruno	40.1	52.5%	10.5%	6.0%	5.0%	23.6%
391	Brea	39.9	53.3%	11.7%	6.6%	5.1%	21.9%
392	Pleasant Hill	39.8	57.7%	9.4%	7.3%	4.8%	21.0%
393	Aliso Viejo	39.7	56.6%	9.9%	5.1%	4.2%	24.0%
394	San Jose	39.6	50.3%	12.2%	8.1%	5.1%	21.9%
395	Goleta	39.0	48.9%	11.0%	9.3%	4.2%	23.9%
396	Moraga	38.4	60.0%	9.2%	7.3%	6.4%	16.1%
397	Fair Oaks	38.0	51.0%	11.6%	7.2%	6.1%	19.6%
398	San Mateo	37.9	46.5%	11.6%	8.2%	4.6%	24.1%
399	Del Aire	37.8	48.7%	9.1%	9.5%	3.7%	25.2%
400	Solana Beach	37.8	53.0%	11.1%	5.5%	3.5%	25.3%
401	San Clemente	37.7	56.0%	11.7%	5.8%	4.6%	21.1%
402	Windsor	37.1	57.6%	12.2%	5.9%	3.6%	21.8%
403	Dixon	35.9	41.4%	11.2%	10.2%	5.9%	21.7%
404	Rancho Mission Viejo	35.8	64.4%	6.9%	2.7%	4.1%	21.8%
405	Campbell	35.1	50.3%	10.3%	5.6%	5.0%	22.6%
406	Home Gardens	34.9	39.5%	11.8%	6.2%	5.4%	25.7%
407	Alameda	34.8	44.8%	12.3%	7.2%	5.7%	21.6%
408	Woodcrest	34.8	47.0%	8.0%	5.7%	6.2%	22.7%
409	San Lorenzo	34.5	48.4%	12.0%	4.6%	5.1%	23.0%
410	South San Francisco	34.4	51.6%	12.2%	6.7%	2.8%	24.6%
411	Oakley	34.3	51.1%	14.3%	6.1%	6.3%	17.0%
412	Quartz Hill	33.7	38.4%	13.4%	11.3%	7.3%	17.5%
413	Patterson	33.6	40.6%	13.5%	9.0%	5.7%	21.2%
414	Martinez	33.5	44.6%	11.0%	6.3%	5.8%	22.2%
415	Castro Valley	33.3	53.8%	11.2%	6.7%	3.8%	21.5%
416	Alum Rock	33.3	52.2%	8.3%	6.2%	4.5%	22.6%
417	Folsom	33.1	46.8%	11.9%	5.3%	6.3%	20.2%
418	Greenfield	32.6	42.8%	13.6%	11.4%	2.6%	24.4%
419	Rancho Santa Margarita	32.5	56.6%	9.7%	5.7%	4.1%	20.6%
420	Encinitas	32.3	51.0%	9.5%	7.4%	4.5%	21.3%
421	Rancho Palos Verdes	32.1	47.9%	8.3%	4.2%	5.5%	23.4%
422	Mill Valley	32.1	39.3%	9.1%	5.9%	8.8%	19.1%
423	Cameron Park	32.0	46.2%	14.5%	7.0%	4.5%	21.2%
424	El Sobrante	32.0	58.8%	3.3%	2.9%	5.8%	20.9%
425	Yorba Linda	31.9	50.5%	10.1%	5.8%	4.7%	21.7%
426	San Juan Capistrano	31.6	48.9%	10.6%	8.3%	3.6%	22.6%
427	French Valley	31.4	41.9%	4.6%	4.9%	6.5%	25.2%
428	Rosedale	31.0	64.5%	10.8%	6.4%	4.4%	14.4%
429	Poway	30.8	55.7%	8.3%	5.6%	5.2%	18.6%
430	Pacifica	30.7	51.4%	8.2%	5.8%	3.9%	23.2%
431	Redondo Beach	30.1	46.8%	9.3%	5.4%	5.5%	21.5%
432	Moorpark	29.9	52.7%	7.4%	4.9%	5.1%	20.7%
433	Canyon Lake	29.5	40.1%	11.0%	7.3%	4.3%	24.7%
434	Valinda	29.4	45.5%	11.1%	8.1%	4.1%	21.9%
435	Eastern Goleta Valley	28.8	40.9%	11.1%	7.9%	3.9%	24.3%
436	Cerritos	27.5	35.8%	10.2%	5.3%	5.1%	26.0%
437	Belmont	27.4	42.1%	11.7%	6.9%	7.2%	16.8%
438	Nipomo	27.4	50.1%	9.4%	5.7%	3.3%	23.0%
439	South Pasadena	27.4	46.3%	9.5%	4.9%	5.1%	21.6%
440	Livermore	27.1	55.4%	10.0%	4.9%	3.6%	20.0%
441	Burlingame	27.0	44.4%	10.2%	7.1%	5.7%	19.2%
442	Morgan Hill	26.8	55.2%	7.8%	4.1%	5.3%	18.1%
443	Danville	26.5	54.6%	7.3%	3.8%	5.6%	18.1%
444	Hermosa Beach	26.4	44.8%	9.5%	5.6%	5.4%	20.8%
445	Redwood City	25.9	46.7%	8.1%	6.3%	4.1%	22.6%
446	Scotts Valley	25.6	50.1%	13.7%	5.9%	2.9%	20.8%
447	Norco	24.3	48.2%	12.4%	5.6%	4.8%	18.1%
448	Eastvale	24.0	43.5%	5.3%	4.8%	4.7%	24.4%
449	San Marino	23.8	46.0%	7.3%	6.7%	5.3%	19.6%
450	Casa de Oro-Mount Helix	22.8	48.9%	9.4%	4.8%	4.9%	18.9%
451	Signal Hill	22.6	40.4%	12.7%	7.1%	4.9%	19.6%
452	Pleasanton	22.3	48.4%	8.3%	5.3%	4.8%	19.3%
453	Granite Bay	21.3	51.4%	8.9%	5.1%	4.5%	17.8%
454	Santa Clara	21.1	36.6%	10.7%	8.4%	5.1%	20.2%
455	San Ramon	20.9	49.1%	7.7%	4.4%	5.2%	18.2%
456	El Segundo	20.6	35.7%	11.5%	5.3%	6.0%	20.3%
457	Fairview	20.4	37.1%	7.6%	4.4%	6.4%	21.3%
458	Mountain House	20.3	45.2%	6.1%	5.0%	3.5%	23.7%
459	Coto de Caza	20.2	62.5%	5.6%	3.0%	3.4%	17.2%
460	El Dorado Hills	19.4	53.6%	7.6%	3.5%	3.9%	18.5%
461	Menlo Park	19.2	46.3%	7.5%	5.8%	4.8%	18.5%
462	Blackhawk	18.6	56.1%	8.1%	5.6%	3.0%	17.1%
463	Albany	18.4	45.8%	9.1%	6.8%	3.1%	20.4%
464	Foster City	17.9	42.1%	6.9%	4.1%	4.9%	21.1%
465	Alamo	17.7	61.6%	5.0%	2.1%	3.6%	16.8%
466	Fremont	17.6	43.3%	8.3%	5.2%	4.7%	19.4%
467	Newark	16.3	45.1%	7.3%	4.3%	4.3%	19.7%
468	Palo Alto	16.0	44.4%	10.1%	6.0%	3.9%	18.1%
469	Ripon	14.3	54.7%	7.0%	5.4%	2.7%	16.7%
470	Los Gatos	14.3	41.8%	8.9%	4.2%	5.0%	17.9%
471	Milpitas	14.1	36.0%	9.7%	5.9%	4.1%	20.9%
472	North Tustin	13.9	44.4%	8.4%	5.2%	4.7%	16.7%
473	Saratoga	13.5	51.6%	6.1%	3.3%	4.0%	16.8%
474	Sierra Madre	13.3	45.5%	12.6%	4.6%	2.6%	18.4%
475	Corte Madera	13.0	44.4%	7.4%	4.6%	4.2%	18.0%
476	Manhattan Beach	12.0	40.2%	7.6%	4.5%	3.8%	20.3%
477	Sunnyvale	11.4	34.7%	8.7%	5.8%	4.5%	19.6%
478	Mountain View	11.4	38.4%	8.8%	6.0%	3.7%	19.3%
479	Tamalpais-Homestead Valley	11.1	38.0%	7.5%	3.3%	5.9%	17.3%
480	La Cañada Flintridge	10.8	48.6%	6.6%	3.5%	5.0%	14.3%
481	Dublin	10.4	43.4%	7.4%	4.5%	3.8%	17.9%
482	Half Moon Bay	8.6	40.0%	10.5%	5.6%	2.4%	18.5%
483	Los Altos	8.3	39.7%	6.9%	3.2%	4.8%	16.8%
484	Calimesa	6.2	22.7%	15.1%	5.3%	1.3%	24.5%
485	Cupertino	5.9	33.1%	8.4%	4.1%	4.0%	17.9%
486	San Diego Country Estates	5.4	27.6%	3.1%	2.6%	4.1%	23.5%
487	San Carlos	5.0	37.9%	5.7%	3.3%	5.0%	14.4%
488	Hillsborough	4.7	20.7%	6.0%	5.0%	7.0%	16.8%
489	Valley Center	4.6	28.4%	11.5%	6.7%	3.7%	15.9%
490	Orinda	4.3	38.2%	7.3%	2.2%	3.4%	16.8%
491	Rossmoor	4.0	28.0%	6.1%	4.2%	3.6%	19.9%
492	Lafayette	3.8	35.5%	6.5%	2.9%	4.3%	15.2%
493	Piedmont	0.1	9.9%	5.4%	4.3%	1.5%	16.8%

Score = national percentile (100 = more strain than every other ranked U.S. city). See the national ranking, or personal loans in California.

Download the full dataset (CSV)

Methodology

The Cash Strain Index combines five measures of household financial pressure for every U.S. city with 10,000+ residents that has complete data (4,121 cities; college towns with a median age under 25 are excluded because student households distort income measures): the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent, the share of households earning under $35,000, the poverty rate, the unemployment rate, and median annual rent as a percentage of median household income. Each measure is standardized (z-score) across all ranked cities and the five are averaged with equal weight. The score shown is a percentile from 0 to 100, where 100 means more strain than every other ranked city. The national list ranks cities with 100,000+ residents; state lists rank every city with 10,000+ residents.

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25070, B19001, B17001, B23025, B25064, B19013). ACS estimates carry margins of error, so small differences between neighboring ranks are not meaningful.

Use this data

Journalists, researchers and bloggers may use these rankings and the CSV with credit and a link to this page (“Zebra Finance Cash Strain Index 2026”). Questions or a custom cut for your city: support@zebrafinance.com.