Special Report

This is the City in California With the Most COVID-19 Cases

Evan Comen

Published: October 14, 2021 4:45 am

The U.S. has reported more than 43.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of October 12. More than 705,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — the highest death toll of any country.

Nationwide, there were an average of 28.8 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans in the week ending October 12. Cumulatively, the U.S. has reported 13,374.3 cases per 100,000 Americans, and 214.9 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

In California, there were an average of 15.9 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending October 12. Cumulatively, California has reported 12,002.6 cases per 100,000 state residents, the 14th fewest of all 50 states. California has reported 175.5 deaths per 100,000, the 17th fewest of all 50 states.

While the nation’s largest metropolitan areas were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic, nearly every city has suffered from the virus. Outbreaks are particularly likely to occur in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate, leaving cities with high concentrations of colleges, correctional facilities, and nursing homes particularly at risk.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Hanford-Corcoran metropolitan area has reported 31,678 confirmed cases, or 21,021.8 per 100,000 residents — the most of any city in California.

El Centro, the city with the second most cases per capita, has reported 19,460.9 cases per 100,000 residents.

The coronavirus crisis has led to widespread unemployment across the country as consumer-facing businesses are forced to close and customers are encouraged to stay home. Unemployment in Hanford-Corcoran peaked at 16.6% in April 2020, and is now at 9.2% as of May 2021.

To determine the metropolitan area in each state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked metropolitan areas according to the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents as of October 12. Data was aggregated from the county level to the metropolitan area level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

These are all the counties in California where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).