State food-access profile · 58 counties

Food access in California

How far California residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

13.3%
low-access pop.: 536
food-desert tracts: 12.6%
on SNAP: 58
counties

The statewide picture

About 5.0M California residents - 13.3% - live in a low-access area, and 536 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

5.0M
low-access residents: 1.2M
food-desert residents: 6.9%
households, no vehicle: 12.0%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where California stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, California is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in California against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 58 counties and 39.3M residents, California's population-weighted low-access share is 13.3%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 536 tracts in California, home to roughly 1.2M low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 12.6% of households, and 6.9% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

13.3%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

5.0M

Low-access residents

12.6%

Avg. SNAP

Sierra

88.2
Mono

57.1
Alpine

57
Modoc

40.5
Colusa

39.3
Nevada

34.8
Del Norte

34.4
Kings

33

All counties in California

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Sierra County	3K	88.2%	9.8%	6.5%	4.4%
Mono County	13K	57.1%	4.6%	4.1%	8.6%
Alpine County	2K	57.0%	9.7%	5.7%	10.0%
Modoc County	9K	40.5%	14.0%	4.7%	17.9%
Colusa County	22K	39.3%	16.4%	4.6%	11.4%
Nevada County	102K	34.8%	8.1%	4.2%	11.0%
Del Norte County	27K	34.4%	22.8%	8.2%	12.9%
Kings County	153K	33.0%	20.0%	5.8%	16.0%
Lassen County	30K	31.9%	13.4%	6.3%	14.0%
Placer County	419K	31.9%	5.7%	4.2%	6.8%
Inyo County	19K	28.9%	8.5%	5.5%	10.9%
Siskiyou County	43K	28.6%	15.5%	6.1%	16.4%
Tuolumne County	54K	27.8%	11.7%	5.2%	10.4%
Sutter County	99K	26.5%	13.2%	5.5%	14.4%
El Dorado County	193K	25.2%	6.5%	3.6%	8.0%
San Bernardino County	2.2M	24.7%	15.8%	4.6%	13.3%
Riverside County	2.5M	24.5%	12.5%	4.3%	10.6%
Kern County	915K	23.8%	20.2%	6.7%	19.1%
Glenn County	28K	23.4%	14.7%	4.3%	16.0%
Contra Costa County	1.2M	23.2%	8.5%	5.2%	8.4%
Santa Cruz County	265K	22.6%	9.9%	5.2%	11.6%
Solano County	452K	21.7%	11.4%	4.9%	10.0%
Yuba County	85K	21.5%	19.3%	6.4%	14.2%
Shasta County	181K	20.3%	13.4%	6.3%	13.3%
Butte County	208K	19.1%	16.0%	6.0%	19.2%
Tehama County	65K	19.1%	13.9%	6.1%	15.6%
Merced County	290K	18.9%	21.0%	7.3%	19.1%
San Luis Obispo County	282K	18.6%	8.2%	3.8%	12.9%
San Benito County	67K	17.9%	10.5%	3.0%	6.7%
Imperial County	180K	17.6%	28.7%	6.1%	19.5%
Trinity County	16K	17.6%	11.1%	5.5%	20.7%
Sacramento County	1.6M	16.8%	14.2%	6.6%	12.5%
Monterey County	438K	16.6%	9.6%	4.7%	12.7%
San Diego County	3.3M	14.9%	9.9%	5.5%	10.3%
Ventura County	837K	14.9%	8.5%	4.1%	9.3%
Calaveras County	46K	14.7%	9.5%	2.3%	13.0%
Madera County	161K	14.5%	21.7%	5.0%	19.2%
Mendocino County	90K	14.5%	17.4%	7.3%	15.4%
San Joaquin County	797K	14.4%	15.6%	5.1%	12.4%
Yolo County	221K	13.7%	13.1%	7.6%	16.7%
Fresno County	1.0M	13.3%	21.8%	7.0%	18.3%
Sonoma County	485K	13.3%	8.0%	4.8%	8.9%
Santa Barbara County	444K	12.2%	10.9%	5.9%	14.7%
Napa County	135K	12.1%	6.9%	4.8%	8.5%
Marin County	258K	11.9%	5.5%	4.9%	8.3%
Humboldt County	135K	11.2%	21.0%	6.1%	18.7%
Tulare County	479K	11.2%	24.1%	4.5%	17.9%
San Mateo County	742K	10.5%	5.1%	5.8%	6.7%
Stanislaus County	554K	9.7%	15.5%	5.6%	13.5%
Orange County	3.2M	8.7%	8.5%	4.8%	9.5%
Santa Clara County	1.9M	8.5%	6.6%	6.0%	7.1%
Alameda County	1.6M	8.1%	9.9%	10.0%	9.2%
Mariposa County	17K	8.1%	13.4%	4.6%	14.0%
Los Angeles County	9.8M	6.5%	14.4%	8.9%	13.7%
Plumas County	19K	6.3%	13.5%	6.6%	10.6%
Lake County	68K	4.2%	24.3%	5.6%	17.0%
San Francisco County	830K	0.6%	11.4%	30.2%	11.2%
Amador County	41K	0.2%	9.8%	4.0%	8.2%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

13.3% of California residents, about 5.0M people, live in a low-access area.
536 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 1.2M low-income, low-access residents.
12.6% of households receive SNAP, and 6.9% have no vehicle.
Sierra County has the state's highest low-access share at 88.2%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of California has low food access?▼

13.3% of California residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in California?▼

536 census tracts in California are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 1.2M low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in California?▼

Across California counties, an average of 12.6% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in California has the worst food access?▼

Sierra County has the highest low-access share in California at 88.2%, with 9.8% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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