Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023
Kern County had the highest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate of 58 counties in 2023, at 20%. San Mateo County had the lowest, at 13.1%. The median was 17%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All counties, 2023
Full ranking
Other periods
About this ranking
Percentage of adults who say their mental health was not good on 14 or more of the past 30 days. Model-based estimate for adults aged 18 and over from CDC PLACES. Crude prevalence, not age-adjusted.
US counties and cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). CDC PLACES combines Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) answers with local population data through multilevel regression and poststratification, so a county or city value is a model estimate, not a survey count. The year is the BRFSS survey year, not the release year. CDC says the method does not support tracking change in a place over time, and each annual release can change the model, so values for different years are not strictly comparable. A state is missing in a year when its BRFSS data did not meet standards (Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 2023, Florida in 2021). Connecticut counties appear as its nine planning regions from 2022; its eight former counties are not served. City values for 2021 come from the 2023 release, built on 2010 Census place boundaries; later years use 2020 boundaries.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.Citation styles
APA 7
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence (Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.cdc.gov/places/
MLA 9
PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence, Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Dec. 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2025. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence. Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties.
Harvard
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025) PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence, Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/places/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{centers_counties_in_california_by_2023,
author = {{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}},
title = {{PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence: Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023}},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.cdc.gov/places/},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties. Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
TI - PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence: Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate, 2023
PY - 2025
DA - 2025/12/04
PB - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.cdc.gov/places/
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"adult_frequent_mental_distress_rate_modelled","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=adult_frequent_mental_distress_rate_modelled&level=province&within=California&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate?
Kern County, with 20% in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Which county has the lowest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate?
San Mateo County, with 13.1% in 2023.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), frequent mental distress in adults, crude prevalence. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate: other rankings
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