Counties in California by unemployment rate
Imperial County had the highest unemployment rate of 58 counties in May 2026, at 17.1%. San Mateo County had the lowest, at 3.2%. The median was 4.85% and the figure for California was 5.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
All counties, May 2026
Full ranking
Other periods
About this ranking
Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.
Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.
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
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.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 unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=California&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest unemployment rate?
Imperial County, with 17.1% in May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?
San Mateo County, with 3.2% in May 2026.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.
Unemployment rate: other rankings
- Countries
- EU countries
- US states
- EU regions (NUTS 2)
- US counties
- Autonomous communities of Spain
- Provinces of Spain
- Regions of Germany (NUTS 2)
- Regions of France (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Italy (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Poland (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Greece (NUTS 2)
Counties in California: more rankings
- Asian population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over
- Live births, July to June
- Black or African American population share
- Crude birth rate, July to June
- Crude death rate, July to June
- Deaths, July to June
- Foreign-born population share
- Real GDP growth
- GDP per capita, US dollars
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Hispanic or Latino population share
- Homeownership rate (US, housing units)
- Median age
- Median gross rent (monthly)
- Median home value