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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in California

74.1% coverage

California's WIC program reaches 74.1% of eligible residents — an estimated 950,000 participants out of 1,283,000 who qualify. That leaves 333,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

1.3M

WIC eligibles

950K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

333K

Unserved eligibles

58

Counties

California by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in California inherits the state's 74.1% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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California at a glance

Coverage rate

74.1%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

25.9%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

1.3M

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

950K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

333K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

825K

31.5% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 58 counties in California.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Los Angeles 328K
  2. 2 San Bernardino 104K
  3. 3 San Diego 90K
  4. 4 Riverside 88K
  5. 5 Orange 75K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Los Angeles 85K
  2. 2 San Bernardino 27K
  3. 3 San Diego 23K
  4. 4 Riverside 23K
  5. 5 Orange 19K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Imperial 55.9%
  2. 2 Tehama 55.4%
  3. 3 Madera 51.8%
  4. 4 Siskiyou 50.4%
  5. 5 Kings 50.3%

Every county in California

All 58 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Alameda 29,665 21,965 7,700 19,072 18.1%
Alpine 42 31 11 27 16.5%
Amador 568 420 148 365 18.0%
Butte 7,161 5,302 1,859 4,604 35.5%
Calaveras 1,134 840 294 729 32.2%
Colusa 972 720 252 625 34.2%
Contra Costa 24,205 17,923 6,282 15,562 20.7%
Del Norte 1,159 858 301 745 49.0%
El Dorado 3,361 2,489 872 2,161 20.7%
Fresno 63,112 46,731 16,381 40,576 47.8%
Glenn 1,531 1,133 398 984 46.1%
Humboldt 5,047 3,737 1,310 3,245 42.2%
Imperial 13,432 9,946 3,486 8,636 55.9%
Inyo 513 380 133 330 30.4%
Kern 60,808 45,026 15,782 39,095 49.9%
Kings 10,211 7,561 2,650 6,565 50.3%
Lake 2,425 1,795 630 1,559 37.2%
Lassen 1,084 803 281 697 42.5%
Los Angeles 328,051 242,906 85,145 210,911 34.5%
Madera 10,011 7,412 2,599 6,436 51.8%
Marin 4,434 3,283 1,151 2,851 20.1%
Mariposa 212 157 55 136 18.3%
Mendocino 3,753 2,779 974 2,413 42.3%
Merced 18,903 13,997 4,906 12,153 48.7%
Modoc 348 258 90 224 45.2%
Mono 575 426 149 370 42.5%
Monterey 20,953 15,515 5,438 13,471 39.9%
Napa 3,283 2,431 852 2,111 28.1%
Nevada 1,884 1,395 489 1,211 24.6%
Orange 74,684 55,300 19,384 48,016 23.8%
Placer 5,946 4,403 1,543 3,823 15.5%
Plumas 670 496 174 431 44.6%
Riverside 88,090 65,226 22,864 56,635 32.9%
Sacramento 58,537 43,344 15,193 37,635 33.5%
San Benito 1,387 1,027 360 892 17.9%
San Bernardino 104,171 77,134 27,037 66,974 39.9%
San Diego 90,476 66,993 23,483 58,169 26.4%
San Francisco 8,936 6,617 2,319 5,745 14.3%
San Joaquin 35,452 26,251 9,201 22,793 37.5%
San Luis Obispo 5,282 3,911 1,371 3,396 23.0%
San Mateo 10,647 7,883 2,764 6,845 14.8%
Santa Barbara 17,817 13,193 4,624 11,455 36.8%
Santa Clara 23,692 17,543 6,149 15,232 12.8%
Santa Cruz 6,085 4,505 1,580 3,912 28.2%
Shasta 5,371 3,977 1,394 3,453 29.5%
Sierra 0 0 0 0 —
Siskiyou 1,968 1,457 511 1,265 50.4%
Solano 13,233 9,799 3,434 8,508 27.5%
Sonoma 9,726 7,202 2,524 6,253 22.9%
Stanislaus 26,232 19,423 6,809 16,865 38.5%
Sutter 5,344 3,957 1,387 3,436 43.9%
Tehama 4,252 3,149 1,103 2,734 55.4%
Trinity 636 471 165 409 41.1%
Tulare 32,197 23,840 8,357 20,700 49.2%
Tuolumne 1,706 1,263 443 1,097 36.7%
Ventura 21,491 15,913 5,578 13,817 25.9%
Yolo 5,571 4,125 1,446 3,582 27.6%
Yuba 4,560 3,377 1,183 2,932 39.2%

Apply for WIC in California

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to California's WIC agency.

California WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in California.

Families guide

California SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

California SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search California's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

California food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology