California Poverty:
Basic Statistics
Poverty Profile
California has the highest rate of poverty at 13.2% of any state in the U.S. (3-year average, 2020-22) 1
An average of 5,142,000 Californians lived in poverty from 2020-22, larger than the total population of 27 individual states 1,22
16.9% of Latinos in California lived in poverty in early 2023. 2
13.6% of African Americans in California lived in poverty in early 2023. 2
11.5% of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in California lived in poverty in early 2023. 2
10.2% of whites lived in poverty in early 2023. 2
22% of people with disabilities in California lived in poverty in 2021. 4
31.1% of all California residents were poor or near poor in early 2023. 2
Senior Poverty
15.2% of seniors in California lived in poverty in early 2023. 2
Hunger
Over 4.1 million Californians, including 1 in 10 people, and 1 in 7 children, face hunger. 6
Housing and Homelessness
An estimated 171,000 Californians were experiencing homelessness as of early 2022. 7
California has only 32 affordable housing units for every 100 renter households, and only 24 for every 100 renters with extremely low incomes. For the latter there is a shortage of nearly 1 million units. 8
Fact: If housing costs had remained steady since 2013, 800,000 fewer Californians would be in poverty. 9
The Safety Net
In early 2023, an estimated 3.2 million more Californians would have been in poverty without safety net programs, including the EITC and CTC, CalFresh, housing subsidies, and Supplemental Security Income. 2
Without existing safety net programs, California’s poverty rate would have been 8.4% higher in early 2023, and 14.9% higher for children. 2
Without the safety net in early 2023, poverty would be 14.4 points higher in the Central Valley and Sierra; 4.3 points higher in the Bay area. 2
Income and Wealth Inequality
186 billionaires live in California — more than any other state in the U.S., and more than any other country outside of the U.S. and China. 11, 12
California is the fifth largest economy in the world when measuring GDP, yet nearly 3 out of 10 Californians are living below or near the poverty line. 2, 16
The gap between high- and low-income families in California is among the largest in the nation—exceeding all but three other states in 2021.18
Black and Latino families make up 12% of those with incomes above the 90th percentile, despite comprising 44% of all families in California; they also comprise 56% of the lowest-income families. 18
20% of all net worth is concentrated in the 30 wealthiest zip codes, home to just 2% of Californians. 18
For every $1 that white families earn, Black families earn $0.60 and Latino families earn $0.52. 18
Nationwide, the typical (median-wealth) white family has more than six times the wealth of a typical African American and five times more than the typical Latino family. 19
Latinas earned 51 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men in California. Latinas with a bachelor’s degree earned even less: 42 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men with a similar level of education. 20
In California, for every $1 made by a white male, a Black female makes $0.54 (about two cents more per hour than in Mississippi, and about the same as in South Carolina, both of which have significantly lower costs of living). 21
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau 2022 Supplemental Poverty Measure
- Public Policy Institute of California: Poverty in California
- Stanford Center for Poverty and Inequality
- American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau)
- Urban Institute
- Feeding America
- California Budget & Policy Center
- National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Public Policy Institute of California: California’s High Housing Costs Increase Poverty
- Prison Policy Initiative
- World Population Review
- LA Times
- The Orange County Register
- Bureau of Economic Analysis
- World Population Review
- California Budget & Policy Center
- Cal Matters: California’s racial inequality: What can state do with $31 billion?
- Public Policy Institute of California: Income Inequality in California
- CNN
- UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute
- Institute for Women’s Policy Research
- U.S. Census Bureau State Population Totals, 2020-2022