Counties in California by frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate

Merced County had the highest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate of 58 counties in 2022, at 20.3%. Marin County had the lowest, at 12.2%. The median was 16.6%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Highest20.3Merced County
Lowest12.2Marin County
Median16.658 counties

All counties, 2022

Merced County: 20.3 %Merced County20.3Humboldt County: 19.7 %Humboldt County19.7Del Norte County: 19.6 %Del Norte County19.6Yuba County: 19.6 %Yuba County19.6Kings County: 19.5 %Kings County19.5Tulare County: 19.5 %Tulare County19.5Madera County: 19.1 %Madera County19.1Yolo County: 18.9 %Yolo County18.9Kern County: 18.8 %Kern County18.8Lassen County: 18.8 %Lassen County18.8Fresno County: 18.7 %Fresno County18.7Glenn County: 18.7 %Glenn County18.7Butte County: 18.6 %Butte County18.6Tehama County: 18.6 %Tehama County18.6Colusa County: 18.3 %Colusa County18.3Sutter County: 18.3 %Sutter County18.3Imperial County: 18.1 %Imperial County18.1Monterey County: 17.9 %Monterey County17.9Stanislaus County: 17.9 %Stanislaus County17.9San Bernardino County: 17.7 %San Bernardino County17.7Sacramento County: 17.3 %Sacramento County17.3Shasta County: 17.3 %Shasta County17.3Mariposa County: 17 %Mariposa County17Santa Cruz County: 16.9 %Santa Cruz County16.9Siskiyou County: 16.9 %Siskiyou County16.9Nevada County: 16.7 %Nevada County16.7San Joaquin County: 16.7 %San Joaquin County16.7Lake County: 16.6 %Lake County16.6San Luis Obispo County: 16.6 %San Luis Obispo County16.6Santa Barbara County: 16.6 %Santa Barbara County16.6Mendocino County: 16.5 %Mendocino County16.5Solano County: 16.5 %Solano County16.5Trinity County: 16.5 %Trinity County16.5Modoc County: 16.4 %Modoc County16.4Mono County: 16.3 %Mono County16.3Calaveras County: 16.2 %Calaveras County16.2Riverside County: 16.2 %Riverside County16.2San Benito County: 16.2 %San Benito County16.2Los Angeles County: 16 %Los Angeles County16Napa County: 15.9 %Napa County15.9Alpine County: 15.8 %Alpine County15.8San Diego County: 15.8 %San Diego County15.8Tuolumne County: 15.7 %Tuolumne County15.7Ventura County: 15.7 %Ventura County15.7Sierra County: 15.6 %Sierra County15.6Placer County: 15.5 %Placer County15.5Inyo County: 15.4 %Inyo County15.4Amador County: 15.2 %Amador County15.2Plumas County: 15.2 %Plumas County15.2Orange County: 15 %Orange County15Sonoma County: 15 %Sonoma County15Contra Costa County: 14.5 %Contra Costa County14.5El Dorado County: 14.4 %El Dorado County14.4Alameda County: 14.1 %Alameda County14.1San Mateo County: 13.4 %San Mateo County13.4San Francisco County: 13.1 %San Francisco County13.1Santa Clara County: 13.1 %Santa Clara County13.1Marin County: 12.2 %Marin County12.2
%. Source: 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. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Merced County20.3+2.9 pts
2Humboldt County19.7+1.9 pts
3Del Norte County19.6+2.5 pts
3Yuba County19.6+2 pts
5Kings County19.5+2.1 pts
5Tulare County19.5+1.8 pts
7Madera County19.1+1.7 pts
8Yolo County18.9+2.5 pts
9Kern County18.8+1.1 pts
9Lassen County18.8+1.8 pts
11Fresno County18.7+2 pts
11Glenn County18.7+1.7 pts
13Butte County18.6+1.1 pts
13Tehama County18.6+1.8 pts
15Colusa County18.3+1.8 pts
15Sutter County18.3+2.2 pts
17Imperial County18.1+1.2 pts
18Monterey County17.9+2.4 pts
18Stanislaus County17.9+1.3 pts
20San Bernardino County17.7+1.5 pts
21Sacramento County17.3+1.5 pts
21Shasta County17.3+0.9 pts
23Mariposa County17+2.5 pts
24Santa Cruz County16.9+1.8 pts
24Siskiyou County16.9+0.9 pts
26Nevada County16.7+2.6 pts
26San Joaquin County16.7+1.2 pts
28Lake County16.6+0.1 pts
28San Luis Obispo County16.6+1.5 pts
28Santa Barbara County16.6+1 pts
31Mendocino County16.5+0.8 pts
31Solano County16.5+1.8 pts
31Trinity County16.5+0.2 pts
34Modoc County16.4+0.5 pts
35Mono County16.3+1.2 pts
36Calaveras County16.2+1.1 pts
36Riverside County16.2+1.1 pts
36San Benito County16.2+1.3 pts
39Los Angeles County16+1.2 pts
40Napa County15.9+2.1 pts
41Alpine County15.8+1.2 pts
41San Diego County15.8+0.8 pts
43Tuolumne County15.7+1.2 pts
43Ventura County15.7+1.7 pts
45Sierra County15.6+1.8 pts
46Placer County15.5+1.8 pts
47Inyo County15.4+0.9 pts
48Amador County15.2+1 pts
48Plumas County15.2+0.6 pts
50Orange County15+1.5 pts
50Sonoma County15+0.8 pts
52Contra Costa County14.5+1.3 pts
53El Dorado County14.4+0.5 pts
54Alameda County14.1+0.6 pts
55San Mateo County13.4+1.7 pts
56San Francisco County13.1+0.4 pts
56Santa Clara County13.1+1.5 pts
58Marin County12.2+0.4 pts

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

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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?period=2022. 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, 2022. 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?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/places/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_counties_in_california_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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?period=2022. 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, 2022
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?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-frequent-mental-distress-rate-county-estimate/california-counties?period=2022.
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  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate?

Merced County, with 20.3% in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which county has the lowest frequent mental distress in adults, local model estimate?

Marin County, with 12.2% in 2022.

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

Counties in California: more rankings