California tied with Louisiana for the highest poverty rate in 2024, according to a new analysis, as rumors of a Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom 2028 run for the White House loom large.
At 17.7%, California and Louisiana had the nation’s highest poverty rates with “no tangible improvement from 2023,” per a recent California Budget & Policy Center analysis based on new Census data. Despite Newsom funneling hundreds of millions into public welfare programs, millions remain impoverished while homelessness still reportedly runs rampant amid swirling rumors of a 2028 White House bid.
“California’s poverty rate means that about 7 million state residents lacked the resources to meet basic needs last year — roughly equivalent to the populations of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco combined,” the analysis reads. “In 2024, nearly 2 million Californians lived in deep poverty. Deep poverty, which is representative of severe economic hardship and extreme poverty, is defined in this analysis as a household with total resources below 50% of the supplemental poverty measure threshold.”
The analysis notes that it calculated its findings according to new U.S. Census data based on the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which the California Budget & Policy Center argues is “a more comprehensive reflection of economic well-being than the Official Poverty Measure.” Though poverty rates did not change much from 2023 to 2024, the analysis notes that they spiked dramatically since the “historic low” of 11% seen in 2021.
California and Louisiana’s poverty rates have topped the nation under the Supplemental Poverty Measure since 2022, according to Newsweek. National poverty levels dropped by 0.4% from 2023 to 2024, according to Census data, falling at 10.6%. Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, national poverty rates were at 12.9% in 2024, same as 2023.
Children, minorities and renters were the most affected, according to the analysis, with the California child poverty rate hovering around 18.6% in 2024.
“Housing is the single largest cost in most family budgets, and high housing costs are pushing more people, especially those already facing systemic barriers, into deeper hardship. California renters are particularly likely to experience poverty due to unaffordable housing costs, which threaten their economic and housing stability,” the analysis reads.
Newsom’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
The governor recently supported the adjustment of a landmark environmental law to boost housing and affordability, though some energy policy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that these changes did not amount to real reform and would not solve the state’s building crisis. Newsom has also poured millions of dollars into combatting homelessness in his state, though the analysis highlighted that Newsom has looked to cut some funding to welfare programs in recent years.
One program Newsom has supported in recent years include the 2022 CARE Court program designed to treat “thousands of Californians who are suffering from untreated mental health and substance use disorders leading to homelessness, incarceration or worse” by allowing courts to mandate treatment. After three years and $160 million taxpayer dollars, the program only reached less than 550 people, according to CalMatters.
Notably, Newsom was listed as the leading hypothetical 2028 Democratic primary candidate, according to a recent Emerson College poll.
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