Calfiornia ranks third only to Nevada and Michigan in a new Associated Press calculation of economic stress and seven California counties are on the Top 10 list of the nation's most economically stressed counties.
The average American county had an economic stress level of 10.8 on a 0-100 scale in December, based on such factors as unemployment, home foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, but the most nation's stressed county was Imperial in California's southeastern corner.
Imperial, much of which sits below sea level, is dominated by large-scale agriculture and has the state's highest Latino population. Its economic stress level by the AP's calculation was 31.57, followed my Merced County at 26.44. Lyon Conty, NV, placed third, followed by five California coutnies: San Benito, Sutter, Yuba, Stanislaus and San Joaquin. Lake County was No. 14 and Riverside County No. 18.
California's economic stress level of 16.5 was third only to Nevada at 21.08 and Michigan at 17.43.
At the other end of the scale, North Dakota was the nation's least stressed state at 4.99, with neighboring South Dakota second least at 5.47 and Nebraska at 5.63. The nation's least stressed county is Nebraska's Lancaster at just 5.2. Every other county on the 20 least stressed list were in the Midwest, Virginia, or Wyoming.

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