Signature · 6 LILA tracts (30% of tracts)
Mendocino County, CA
Mendocino County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 6 LILA tracts (30% of the book) alongside 14.5% low-access.
- 14.5%
- low-access pop.
- 6
- food-desert tracts
- 17.4%
- on SNAP
- 90K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Mendocino County, CA
LA-MODERATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-TYPICAL · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-MODERATE 14.5% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -7.6 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 6 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-HEAVY 17.4% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 7.3% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 30% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Madera County (+ 0.0 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Mendocino County lands in the lower national band (14.5%, #2,153 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,153
- national by low-access %
- #38
- in CA
- 6
- low-access tracts
- 5K
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 6 LILA tracts (30% of tracts) .
How Mendocino County compares nationally
Mendocino County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 14.5% low-access share that beats 31% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #2,157).
Mendocino County's lower-band USDA tier split
20 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 6 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Mendocino County has 8 urban and 12 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Mendocino County vs nearby low low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in California, not a full county-board reprint
- Sierra
Sierra 88.2%
88.2 % low-access
- San Diego 14.9
San Diego 14.9%
14.9 % low-access
- Calaveras 14.7
Calaveras 14.7%
14.7 % low-access
- Mendocino 14.5
Mendocino 14.5%
14.5 % low-access
- Madera 14.5
Madera 14.5%
14.5 % low-access
- San Joaquin 14.4
San Joaquin 14.4%
14.4 % low-access
- Amador 0.2
Amador 0.2%
0.2 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 20 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 87,841 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 6 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 6 |
| Low-Access Population | 12,720 |
| Low-Access Share | 14.5%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 5,202 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 90,244 |
| Median Household Income | $68,092 |
| Poverty Rate | 15.4%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 6,072 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 17.4%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 7.3%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.5% |
Thick SNAP store book in Mendocino County
Mendocino County has 97 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 10 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 45 locations (46% of the total), followed by supermarket.
Convenience Store · 45
- browns, willits
- center street market, point arena
- coyote valley convenience store, redwood valley
- express gas mart, willits
- express mart, ukiah
- foster's ranch market, laytonville
- gravier's chevron, laytonville
- hoppers corner store, potter valley
- jensens travel plaza, ukiah
- kwik pik market, ukiah
- leggett valley market, leggett
- lightels food & fuel, ukiah
- little bakers market, redwood valley
- littlerivermarket, little river
- nmso inc 8137, fort bragg
- noni s inc, fort bragg
- nor cal gasoline, fort bragg
- one stop shop, fort bragg
- prime market, ukiah
- park n take it / friends coffe house, laytonville
- quest mart, ukiah
- quik stop market 550140, ukiah
- redwood market 284, covelo
- redwood market 285, fort bragg
- redwood market 286, willits
- redwood market 287, ukiah
- redwood market 288, ukiah
- redwood market 289, ukiah
- sanel valley market, hopland
- shell circle k 42, willits
- sherwood market, willits
- shop and wash market, ukiah
- south side store, ukiah
- speedex gasoline, fort bragg
- speedway 4075, ukiah
- t & n market, willits
- talmage arco ampm, ukiah
- talmage store, ukiah
- the superette market grocery, ukiah
- tnt market, willits
- ukiah liquor & food, ukiah
- ukiah sinclair, ukiah
- village market, willits
- village market & liquor 2, willits
- walia express, ukiah
Supermarket · 11
- food maxx 473, ukiah
- gualala supermarket, inc., gualala
- geiger's long valley market, laytonville
- lucky 628, ukiah
- mariposa market, willits
- purity supermarket, fort bragg
- raley's 328, ukiah
- safeway 1583, ukiah
- safeway 965, willits
- safeway 978, fort bragg
- super chavez market, ukiah
Combination Grocery/Other · 10
- cvs pharmacy 3932, fort bragg
- cvs pharmacy 9822, ukiah
- dollar tree 2939, willits
- dollar tree 4060, ukiah
- dollar tree 5853, fort bragg
- dollar tree 8577, ukiah
- harvest at mendosas, mendocino
- harvest market, fort bragg
- s & b mkt & supply co, manchester
- walgreens 09525, ukiah
Farmers' Market · 7
- fort bragg farmers market, fort bragg
- hopland certified farmers market, hopland
- laytonville farmers market, laytonville
- mendocino farmers market, mendocino
- redwood valley certified farmers market, redwood valley
- ukiah saturday farmers market, ukiah
- willits certified farmers market na, willits
Small Grocery Store · 7
- anderson valley market, boonville
- boont berry farm, boonville
- corners of the mouth, mendocino
- down home foods no, fort bragg
- el torito, fort bragg
- tienda su pais, covelo
- westside renaissance market, ukiah
Super Store · 6
- costco 1297, ukiah
- grocery outlet of willits 261, willits
- keith's meat market, covelo
- surf super market, inc. 1, gualala
- ukiah groceryoulet 69, ukiah
- walmart 2052, ukiah
Bakery Specialty · 4
- papa murphy's pizza ca034, fort bragg
- papa murphy's take and bake pizza ca 051, ukiah
- papa murphy's take and bake pizza ca016, willits
- pizza etc, redwood valley
Medium Grocery Store · 4
- arena market and cafe, point arena
- lemon's philo market, philo
- m & j el yuca, fort bragg
- redwood valley market, redwood valley
Large Grocery Store · 2
- anchor bay store, gualala
- contreras meat market, ukiah
Food Buying Co-op · 1
- ukiah natural foods, ukiah
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in California
One of 57 counties in California, 6 are shown here.
Compare Mendocino County vs Alameda County → · All California counties →
Counties near Mendocino County's lower low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Mendocino County, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside CA (14.5% here).
- Marion County, MS · 14.5% low-access
- Marion County, MS · 14.5% low-access
- Rutherford County, NC · 14.5% low-access
- Rutherford County, NC · 14.5% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside CA (17.4% here).
- Union County, IA · 17.4% SNAP
- Union County, IA · 17.4% SNAP
- Mercer County, PA · 17.4% SNAP
- Mercer County, PA · 17.4% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Mendocino County inside a lower low-access state context
Mendocino County sits inside California (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Mendocino County, CA are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 06045. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.