List of California Counties by Human Development Index

This list ranks all 58 counties in California by their Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of income, education, and life expectancy. The highest HDI counties are Marin (1.025), San Francisco (1.008), San Mateo (1.006), and Santa Clara (1.002), all in the Bay Area, reflecting the region’s concentration of wealth, education, and health resources. At the other end, Tulare County (0.888), Imperial County (0.889), and Kern County (0.892) rank lowest, representing largely rural and agricultural Central Valley counties. Mono County has been excluded from this ranking due to implausible life expectancy data (98–103 years). Overall, the list highlights the HDI gap between urban coastal counties and rural inland regions.^[1][2][3]

California Counties by HDI 2024

California Counties by HDI 2024

List

California Counties by HDI

Rank	County	HDI
Very High Human Development
1	Marin	1.025
2	San Francisco	1.008
3	San Mateo	1.006
4	Santa Clara	1.002
5	Alameda	0.982
6	Contra Costa	0.980
7	Placer	0.975
8	Orange	0.974
9	Santa Cruz	0.973
10	El Dorado	0.970
11	Napa	0.969
12	Sonoma	0.967
13	Ventura	0.966
14	San Diego	0.964
15	San Luis Obispo	0.963
16	Yolo	0.960
17	Calaveras	0.959
18	Santa Barbara	0.958
19	Amador	0.957
20	Nevada	0.957
21	Mariposa	0.957
22	Sierra	0.956
23	Los Angeles	0.950
24	Solano	0.948
25	Monterey	0.944
26	San Benito	0.944
27	Butte	0.941
28	Plumas	0.941
29	Sacramento	0.937
California		0.935
30	Alpine	0.932
31	Riverside	0.932
32	Inyo	0.931
33	Colusa	0.931
34	Tuolumne	0.923
35	Mendocino	0.922
36	Humboldt	0.921
37	Sutter	0.916
38	Modoc	0.913
39	Shasta	0.909
40	San Joaquin	0.909
41	Trinity	0.908
42	Siskiyou	0.904
43	San Bernardino	0.904
44	Stanislaus	0.903
45	Fresno	0.902
46	Lassen	0.900
47	Glenn	0.899
48	Lake	0.897
49	Kings	0.897
50	Yuba	0.897
51	Tehama	0.896
52	Madera	0.895
53	Merced	0.893
54	Kern	0.892
55	Del Norte	0.892
56	Imperial	0.889
57	Tulare	0.888