Highest-earning counties in California

Written by:
July 24, 2025
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Highest-earning counties in California

Data shows that annual annual income depends heavily on an individual's educational attainment, race, ethnicity, gender, and even location. One cluster of the United States is particularly well off: The five of the seven counties with the highest median household income in the country can be found in the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas of Maryland and Northern Virginia. These counties can likely attribute their wealth to their proximity to Washington D.C., which attracts highly educated and skilled people in areas of law and public policy. And people in those fields often marry each other, making two high-earning households one very high-earning household.

The 2023 real median household income in the U.S. was $80,610, an increase of 4.0% from 2022, the first statistically significant annual increase in real median household income since 2019.

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-earning counties in California using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by 2023 5-year estimate median household income.

Keep reading to learn more about the highest-earning counties in California.

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#50. Lassen County

- Median household income: $64,395
- Households earning over $100k: 30.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.4%

#49. Mendocino County

- Median household income: $64,688
- Households earning over $100k: 30.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.8%

#48. Plumas County

- Median household income: $64,946
- Households earning over $100k: 31.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.5%

#47. Merced County

- Median household income: $65,044
- Households earning over $100k: 29.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.2%

#46. Mariposa County

- Median household income: $65,378
- Households earning over $100k: 32.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.2%

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#45. Del Norte County

- Median household income: $66,780
- Households earning over $100k: 34.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.8%

#44. Kern County

- Median household income: $67,660
- Households earning over $100k: 32.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.5%

#43. Butte County

- Median household income: $68,574
- Households earning over $100k: 34.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.5%

#42. Kings County

- Median household income: $68,750
- Households earning over $100k: 31.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.2%

#41. Tulare County

- Median household income: $69,489
- Households earning over $100k: 32.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.0%

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#40. Glenn County

- Median household income: $70,487
- Households earning over $100k: 32.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.6%

#39. Fresno County

- Median household income: $71,434
- Households earning over $100k: 35.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.7%

#38. Shasta County

- Median household income: $71,931
- Households earning over $100k: 34.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.9%

#37. Tuolumne County

- Median household income: $72,259
- Households earning over $100k: 36.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.2%

#36. Inyo County

- Median household income: $72,432
- Households earning over $100k: 35.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.5%

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#35. Yuba County

- Median household income: $73,313
- Households earning over $100k: 35.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.9%

#34. Colusa County

- Median household income: $75,149
- Households earning over $100k: 33.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.1%

#33. Sutter County

- Median household income: $75,450
- Households earning over $100k: 37.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.3%

#32. Madera County

- Median household income: $75,496
- Households earning over $100k: 35.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.2%

#31. Stanislaus County

- Median household income: $79,661
- Households earning over $100k: 38.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.5%

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#30. Calaveras County

- Median household income: $79,877
- Households earning over $100k: 38.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.8%

#29. Amador County

- Median household income: $81,526
- Households earning over $100k: 39.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.1%

#28. San Bernardino County

- Median household income: $82,184
- Households earning over $100k: 40.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.2%

#27. Nevada County

- Median household income: $84,905
- Households earning over $100k: 43.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.5%

#26. Mono County

- Median household income: $86,953
- Households earning over $100k: 44.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.7%

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#25. Los Angeles County

- Median household income: $87,760
- Households earning over $100k: 44.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.8%

#24. San Joaquin County

- Median household income: $88,531
- Households earning over $100k: 44.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.5%

#23. Sacramento County

- Median household income: $88,724
- Households earning over $100k: 44.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.0%

#22. Yolo County

- Median household income: $88,818
- Households earning over $100k: 45.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.7%

#21. Riverside County

- Median household income: $89,672
- Households earning over $100k: 44.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.1%

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#20. San Luis Obispo County

- Median household income: $93,398
- Households earning over $100k: 47.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.5%

#19. Monterey County

- Median household income: $94,486
- Households earning over $100k: 47.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.4%

#18. Santa Barbara County

- Median household income: $95,977
- Households earning over $100k: 48.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.3%

#17. Solano County

- Median household income: $99,994
- Households earning over $100k: 50.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.3%

#16. San Diego County

- Median household income: $102,285
- Households earning over $100k: 51.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 11.0%

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#15. Sonoma County

- Median household income: $102,840
- Households earning over $100k: 51.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.0%

#14. El Dorado County

- Median household income: $106,190
- Households earning over $100k: 52.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 11.1%

#13. Ventura County

- Median household income: $107,327
- Households earning over $100k: 53.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 9.1%

#12. San Benito County

- Median household income: $108,289
- Households earning over $100k: 54.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 8.1%

#11. Napa County

- Median household income: $108,970
- Households earning over $100k: 53.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 9.4%

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#10. Santa Cruz County

- Median household income: $109,266
- Households earning over $100k: 53.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 11.5%

#9. Alpine County

- Median household income: $110,781
- Households earning over $100k: 58.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 8.4%

#8. Orange County

- Median household income: $113,702
- Households earning over $100k: 55.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.3%

#7. Placer County

- Median household income: $114,678
- Households earning over $100k: 56.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 9.6%

#6. Contra Costa County

- Median household income: $125,727
- Households earning over $100k: 60.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 8.8%

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#5. Alameda County

- Median household income: $126,240
- Households earning over $100k: 59.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.8%

#4. San Francisco

- Median household income: $141,446
- Households earning over $100k: 61.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.3%

#3. Marin County

- Median household income: $142,785
- Households earning over $100k: 62.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 8.5%

#2. San Mateo County

- Median household income: $156,000
- Households earning over $100k: 66.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 7.1%

#1. Santa Clara County

- Median household income: $159,674
- Households earning over $100k: 67.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 7.6%

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