Poverty in California - Poverty in California increased between 2021 and early 2023. Nearly a third of Californians are living in or near poverty.

⊲ The poverty rate rose from 11.7% in fall 2021 to 13.2% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the California Poverty Measure (CPM), a research effort by PPIC and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality that accounts for housing costs and safety net benefits. [...] ⊲ Child poverty jumped from 9.0% in fall 2021 to 13.8% in early 2023; child poverty was 17.6% in 2019. [...] ⊲ In early 2023, 31.1% of residents were poor or near poor (with resources up to one and a half times the CPM poverty line), up from 28.7% in fall 2021. [...] Poverty would be even higher without the safety net CPM poverty Increase in poverty if no safety net 0% 10 20 30 All safety net programs 13.2% 8.4% CalFresh 13.2% 3.0% Federal EITC 13.2% Federal Child Tax Credit 13.2% Housing subsidies 13.2% SSI/SSP 13.2% CalEITC 13.2% Source: Estimates from the CPM, first quarter of 2023. [...] ⊲ Safety net programs reduce poverty most in inland areas: without them, poverty would be 14.4 points higher in the Central Valley and Sierra region, but only 4.3 points higher in the Bay Area.