Counties with the highest cancer rates in California

Written by:
July 12, 2023
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Counties with the highest cancer rates in California

Several factors contribute to cancer rates, from personal habits and genetics to air pollution or groundwater quality in a given area. People experiencing social, economic, or environmental disadvantages are disproportionately affected by high cancer rates in certain regions—including access or barriers to early screening and care.

Cancer rates also fluctuate by jobs: Higher rates of cancer can be found among meat industry and rubber manufacturing workers, and farmers.

Stacker compiled the counties with the highest cancer rates in California using data from the CDC. Keep reading to see where in your state cancer cases are the most common.

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#58. Kings County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 322.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 364.4
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#57. Mono County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 326.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 250.9
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#56. Tulare County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 337.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 365.0
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#55. Merced County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 350.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 379.8
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#54. Imperial County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 369.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 367.6
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#53. Kern County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 372.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 405.0
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#52. Fresno County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 379.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 389.1
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#51. San Bernardino County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 385.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 393.9
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#50. Yolo County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 386.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 397.9
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#49. San Benito County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 396.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 378.0
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#48. Lassen County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 397.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 346.6
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#47. Monterey County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 399.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 379.2
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#46. Alpine County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 401.3
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 271.7
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#45. Los Angeles County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 402.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 367.6
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#44. Madera County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 413.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 387.2
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Uladzik Kryhin // Shutterstock

#43. Santa Clara County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 414.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 378.6
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#42. Alameda County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 414.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 371.5
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#41. San Joaquin County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 416.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 405.5
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#40. Riverside County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 432.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 389.5
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#39. Colusa County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 436.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 394.8
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#38. Stanislaus County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 437.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 422.2
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#37. San Francisco County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 453.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 380.0
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#36. Sacramento County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 456.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 412.2
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#35. Del Norte County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 458.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 340.6
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#34. San Diego County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 461.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 418.5
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#33. Yuba County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 464.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 461.1
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#32. Orange County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 468.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 404.2
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Matt Gush // Shutterstock

#31. Sutter County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 485.3
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 416.8
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#30. San Mateo County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 488.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 397.6
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#29. Santa Barbara County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 491.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 436.3
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#28. Contra Costa County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 491.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 405.9
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#27. Modoc County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 497.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 310.5
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#26. Solano County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 501.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 415.6
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#25. Ventura County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 505.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 422.0
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#24. Santa Cruz County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 541.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 444.7
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#23. Humboldt County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 554.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 435.7
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#22. Napa County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 560.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 410.4
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#21. Siskiyou County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 586.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 352.3
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#20. Sonoma County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 589.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 424.2
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#19. Sierra County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 594.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 307.7
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#18. Butte County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 602.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 474.9
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#17. Placer County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 605.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 439.2
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CL Shebley // Shutterstock

#16. Glenn County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 606.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 509.8
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#15. Inyo County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 609.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 388.3
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#14. San Luis Obispo County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 618.3
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 445.2
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#13. El Dorado County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 623.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 416.4
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#12. Mendocino County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 631.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 431.6
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#11. Tehama County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 643.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 465.3
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#10. Marin County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 675.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 442.0
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#9. Plumas County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 678.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 372.2
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#8. Shasta County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 679.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 475.0
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Gibson Outdoor Photo // Shutterstock

#7. Trinity County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 679.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 378.7
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#6. Lake County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 684.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 445.9
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#5. Nevada County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 698.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 402.2
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#4. Mariposa County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 706.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 385.1
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StephanieFarrell // Shutterstock

#3. Tuolumne County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 708.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 412.0
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#2. Calaveras County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 714.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 398.7
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#1. Amador County

- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 777.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 434.9

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