Humboldt CalFresh Enrollment Rises 55% From 2014 to 2024, UC Davis Finds

A UC Davis Labor and Community Center research brief titled "CalFresh Enrollments in Humboldt County, 2014–2024" reports that more than 30,000 Humboldt County residents received CalFresh benefits in 2024, an overall caseload increase of roughly 55.5% since 2014 that pushed the county enrollment rate to 22.4%. The brief, authored by Jason Whisler and Marcos Lopez and drawing on California Department of Social Services data, shows children, working-age adults, and seniors all rely heavily on the program: 28.4% of residents under 18 and 17.5% of residents 60 and older were enrolled in CalFresh in 2024.

Working-age adults are the principal driver of the county increase. The brief finds 22.4% of Humboldt residents age 18 to 59 were enrolled in CalFresh in 2024, compared with 11.1% statewide for that age group. The report documents an 8.2 percentage-point rise in working-age enrollment in Humboldt from 2014 to 2024, versus a 2.4-point statewide increase. Jason Whisler, senior research specialist with the UC Davis Labor and Community Center, said, "We’re seeing that incomes in Humboldt County are not keeping up with statewide increases and it is resulting in more people turning to CalFresh and other assistance programs." He added, "In Humboldt County, it’s the working-age people where that strongly outpaces statewide averages."

The brief links the enrollment surge to slower local income growth and rising living costs rather than a spike in unemployment. Between 2014 and 2024 Humboldt County median household income rose by $17,526, a 43.2% increase, while California median household income rose $38,216, a 61.7% increase over the same period. UC Davis notes Humboldt’s unemployment rate has "generally tracked just below the state average" while the rate of full-time workers living in poverty "nearly doubled" over the decade. The research brief also states, "This financial hit to low-wage recipients, along with rising food prices and reduced federal spending on emergency food distribution, deepened food insecurity and highlighted the precarious nature of food access Californians regularly experience," and it references a November federal government shutdown as a short-term stressor amid these longer-term trends.

Humboldt’s position among California counties shifted markedly: the county rose from the 19th-highest overall CalFresh enrollment rate in 2014 to the 9th-highest in 2024, and its working-age rank climbed from 16th to 5th among 58 counties. The brief places Humboldt’s 22.4% overall enrollment rate well above the statewide 2024 rate of 14.3%, underscoring a county-level gap in food assistance reliance.

Local reaction on community sites echoed concern about wages and the regional economy. On the Redheaded Blackbelt site, a comment read, "There is no economic activity for living here." Another commenter wrote, "Humboldt has always been one of the three poorest counties in California... I worked full time my entire adult life and still qualified for CalFresh," while a commenter labeled Mr. Clark posted, "The workers building the bump outs bike Lanes and trails are making about 70,000 a year should change occupations."

The UC Davis brief, "CalFresh Enrollments in Humboldt County, 2014–2024," by Jason Whisler and Marcos Lopez, draws its figures from California Department of Social Services data and is datelined Davis, CA, February 2026. Its findings highlight widening disparities in income growth and food access that county officials, service providers, and state policymakers will confront as caseloads rise and basic needs deepen across Humboldt.