Mendocino
Most Indebted California County

5/20/11: Today I'm releasing my 7th Annual Report comparing debt of California Counties.

The report is available by clicking here - Comparative Debt Measures - California Counties (click for pdf copy - 885KB).

Most Indebted County Per Capita in California Seventh Year in a Row

Compared to all other Counties in the State (other than the City and County of San Francisco - a totally unique form of government), Mendocino County had per resident (per capita):
    • The highest long term debt
    • The highest annual payments on debt
    • The highest interest expense

In terms of the percentage of total County budget consumed by debt, Mendocino had:
    • Most consumed by interest.
    • Most consumed by total debt payments

In terms of the percentage of County property tax income consumed by debt Mendocino County had:
    • Most consumed by interest
    • Second most consumed by total debt payments

The report is based on the most recent data from the California State Controllers Office (for fiscal year 2009).There are a number of issues with the State Controller's data careful readers should know about. See the report for further information.