John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $972.65 million, equating to $3,679 per capita and making up 31.8% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Income Maintenance transfers across California amounted to $67.95 billion, ranking lowest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $1,741 per capita, or 14.6% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $465.5 billion, accounting for 15.5% of residents’ total income, with an average of $11,927 per resident.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Santa Cruz County in 2022, accounting for $797.39 million, averaging $3,016 per capita, representing 26% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $585.26 million, averaging $2,214 per capita and comprising 19.1% of government support, making them the third largest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 19% of the population aged 65 and older, Santa Cruz County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Santa Cruz County, excluding government transfers was $74,783, which is below the county's total income of $86,365, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Santa Cruz County saw an increase in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.2%, reflecting both rising transfer amounts and stagnating or insufficient other sources of income.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Santa Cruz County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 12.2% (or $3,210 per capita) in 1970 to 13.4% (or $11,582 per capita) in 2022.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 1 | 18.7% | 15.2% | 3.5% | 4.1% | 6.3% | 3.2% | $13,893 |
| San Diego County | 2 | 15% | 15.5% | 4.1% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 1.7% | $11,109 |
| Orange County | 3 | 11.7% | 16.3% | 3.7% | 3.3% | 1.8% | 1.5% | $9,775 |
| Riverside County | 4 | 19.8% | 15.4% | 5.8% | 4.9% | 3.1% | 3% | $10,171 |
| San Bernardino County | 5 | 21.7% | 12.5% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5.7% | 3.8% | $10,706 |
| Sacramento County | 6 | 21.5% | 15.3% | 4.9% | 4.1% | 7.1% | 3.2% | $13,238 |
| Alameda County | 7 | 11.9% | 15.5% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.8% | 1.5% | $11,610 |
| Santa Clara County | 8 | 6.6% | 14.9% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 0.7% | $9,529 |
| Fresno County | 9 | 25.8% | 12.9% | 4.7% | 4.2% | 9.1% | 4.9% | $13,015 |
| Contra Costa County | 10 | 11.8% | 17.2% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 2.5% | 1.2% | $11,203 |
| San Francisco County | 11 | 8.4% | 18.1% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 2.5% | 1.2% | $13,025 |
| San Joaquin County | 12 | 23% | 13.5% | 4.8% | 4% | 8.5% | 3.4% | $12,478 |
| Kern County | 13 | 22.6% | 11.8% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 4.3% | $10,122 |
| Ventura County | 14 | 14.4% | 17.4% | 4.6% | 4.1% | 2.2% | 1.5% | $10,959 |
| San Mateo County | 15 | 5.3% | 18.1% | 2% | 1.4% | 0.7% | 0.5% | $9,223 |
| Stanislaus County | 16 | 23.5% | 13.8% | 5.7% | 4.8% | 6.9% | 3.5% | $11,991 |
| Tulare County | 17 | 26.6% | 11.9% | 4.7% | 4.1% | 9.4% | 5.4% | $12,574 |
| Sonoma County | 18 | 15.9% | 21.6% | 5.6% | 4.4% | 2.8% | 1.4% | $12,415 |
| Solano County | 19 | 20.8% | 17.5% | 6% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 2.5% | $12,097 |
| Placer County | 20 | 13.5% | 20.5% | 5.2% | 3.8% | 1.4% | 1.1% | $11,070 |
| Monterey County | 21 | 16.4% | 15% | 4.4% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 2.3% | $10,646 |
| Santa Barbara County | 22 | 13.6% | 16.6% | 4.4% | 3.4% | 2.2% | 1.8% | $10,320 |
| Merced County | 23 | 27% | 11.7% | 4.8% | 4.2% | 9.9% | 4.7% | $12,461 |
| San Luis Obispo County | 24 | 16.8% | 22.2% | 6.6% | 4.5% | 2% | 1.4% | $11,393 |
| Butte County | 25 | 27.6% | 18.4% | 7.1% | 6.2% | 7.3% | 3.7% | $15,156 |
| Shasta County | 26 | 31.7% | 21.5% | 8.6% | 6.3% | 9.1% | 3.7% | $17,135 |
| Santa Cruz County | 27 | 13.4% | 19% | 4.3% | 3.5% | 2.6% | 1.5% | $11,582 |
| Marin County | 28 | 6.8% | 23.9% | 2.9% | 2% | 0.7% | 0.6% | $11,630 |
| Imperial County | 29 | 29.8% | 13.8% | 5.6% | 6.5% | 7% | 6% | $13,476 |
| El Dorado County | 30 | 15.1% | 23.5% | 5.9% | 4% | 2.1% | 1.2% | $12,405 |
| Yolo County | 31 | 15.5% | 13.4% | 4.2% | 3.2% | 4% | 1.8% | $9,961 |
| Humboldt County | 32 | 27.1% | 19.8% | 7.1% | 4.8% | 8.7% | 3.2% | $14,667 |
| Madera County | 33 | 23% | 14.5% | 6% | 4.5% | 5.7% | 4% | $10,676 |
| Napa County | 34 | 14% | 21.2% | 4.8% | 4% | 2.5% | 1% | $12,121 |
| Kings County | 35 | 23.9% | 10.9% | 4.6% | 4% | 7.7% | 4% | $10,173 |
| Mendocino County | 36 | 29.9% | 24.6% | 7.7% | 6.5% | 9.3% | 3.4% | $17,149 |
| Nevada County | 37 | 19.9% | 29.3% | 7.8% | 5% | 3% | 1.6% | $14,479 |
| Yuba County | 38 | 31.8% | 13.3% | 5.6% | 5% | 12.5% | 4.6% | $15,320 |
| Sutter County | 39 | 24.6% | 16.4% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 6.2% | 3.4% | $12,794 |
| Lake County | 40 | 36.3% | 24% | 10% | 9.2% | 8.7% | 4.2% | $16,563 |
| Tehama County | 41 | 31.3% | 20.2% | 8.6% | 7.6% | 7.9% | 3.9% | $14,813 |
| Tuolumne County | 42 | 30.9% | 28.2% | 10.7% | 8.1% | 6% | 2.5% | $16,290 |
| Siskiyou County | 43 | 36.8% | 27.9% | 10.1% | 7.1% | 11.2% | 4.2% | $19,046 |
| Calaveras County | 44 | 27.7% | 29% | 10.2% | 7% | 4.7% | 2.5% | $15,514 |
| San Benito County | 45 | 14.7% | 13.5% | 4.4% | 3.8% | 2.5% | 1.9% | $9,080 |
| Amador County | 46 | 28.8% | 27.8% | 11.6% | 8.5% | 3.1% | 2.2% | $13,970 |
| Del Norte County | 47 | 39.3% | 20.7% | 9.1% | 6.9% | 13.9% | 5.6% | $17,166 |
| Glenn County | 48 | 27.7% | 17% | 7% | 6.8% | 7.5% | 3.7% | $14,158 |
| Lassen County | 49 | 31.8% | 17.3% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 11.9% | 3.9% | $12,950 |
| Plumas County | 50 | 31.2% | 32% | 9.6% | 7.9% | 7.1% | 2.6% | $18,548 |
| Inyo County | 51 | 25.1% | 24.8% | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.6% | 2.4% | $15,433 |
| Mariposa County | 52 | 27.4% | 30.1% | 8.9% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 2.6% | $16,803 |
| Colusa County | 53 | 20% | 15.7% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 4.3% | 2.6% | $11,121 |
| Trinity County | 54 | 41.1% | 30.9% | 10.4% | 8.3% | 13.8% | 4.6% | $14,925 |
| Modoc County | 55 | 37.2% | 30% | 8.9% | 8.4% | 12.2% | 4.2% | $21,063 |
| Mono County | 56 | 12.1% | 18.6% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 1.6% | 1.4% | $7,890 |
| Sierra County | 57 | 26.4% | 31.6% | 10.3% | 7.7% | 2.5% | 2.8% | $12,643 |
| Alpine County | 58 | 26.7% | 26.3% | 5.7% | 3.5% | 14% | 2.2% | $18,056 |
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