Poverty in California has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

• California’s poverty rate rose from 15.2% in 2022 to 16.9% in 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. In 2023, about 6.4 million Californians were under the CPM poverty line ($43,990 annually, on average, for two working-age adults and two children, with variation across regions).
• With the end of pandemic relief programs, poverty among children rose to its 2019 level (17.6%), as did poverty among adults (15.8% in 2023; 15.6% in 2019). Poverty among those age 65+ surpassed its 2019 level (19.7% vs. 18% in 2019).
• In 2023, national statistics show increased poverty after the expiration of pandemic-era expansions to the federal Child Tax Credit, stimulus payments, unemployment insurance, and food assistance—the only major expansion still in place for the first several months of 2023.

About one-third of Californians are living in or near poverty.

• In 2023, 34.8% of Californians (13.2 million) were poor or near poor (with resources up to 1.5 times the CPM poverty line), up from 33.3% in 2022. The share who were near poor was slightly lower (17.9% vs. 18.1%).
• A much smaller number of Californians have less than half the resources to meet basic needs—food, clothing, shelter, and utilities—but there was an uptick in 2023: 1.7 million were in deep poverty, compared to 1.6 million in 2022.

Social safety net programs keep many Californians out of poverty.

• In 2023, about 2.6 million more Californians (6.7%) would have been in poverty without safety net programs. CalFresh kept 856,000 Californians out of poverty (2.3%). The federal Earned Income Tax Credit lowered poverty by 1.1 points; the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) lowered poverty by 0.7 points (compared to 1.9 points in 2021, when it was expanded). School meals had the same effect on poverty as the federal CTC.
• Most safety net programs prioritize children; in 2023, these programs kept 12.4% of children (about 1 million) out of poverty. The largest reductions were due to CalFresh (312,000 children—or 3.7%—not in poverty) and the federal EITC (191,000 children—or 2.3%—not in poverty).

Poverty rates vary widely across the state.

• Across regions, poverty rates were highest in Los Angeles County (19.9%) and the Central Coast region (19.3%); the Sacramento Area had the lowest (13.2%). Rates differ widely across legislative districts (6.9% to 26.5%).
• Without safety net programs, poverty would be 11.6 points higher in the Central Valley and Sierra, but only 2.8 points higher in the Bay Area. Higher incomes in coastal areas make more residents ineligible for safety net programs, but higher housing costs put many below the CPM poverty line.

Latinos, immigrants, and less-educated adults have higher poverty rates.

• Across races/ethnicities in California, poverty rose about 2% from 2022 to 2023. The Latino rate was highest (21%), and they continue to make up a disproportionate share of Californians experiencing poverty—comprising about half (50.6%) of Californians in poverty and 40.7% of the overall state population.
• About 17.5% of Blacks, 15.6% of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and 12.8% of whites lived in poverty in 2023. Black and Asian American/Pacific Islander residents made up 5.2% and 14.6% of Californians living in poverty and comprised similar shares of the state population (5% and 17.4%). White residents made up 25.5% of Californians in poverty but 33.1% of the overall population.
• The poverty rate for foreign-born Californians was 21.9%, compared to 14.8% for US-born residents; poverty among undocumented immigrants was 36%. Poverty among Californians living in mixed-status families (with some documented and some undocumented members) was 30%.
• Poverty rates are higher among adults with lower levels of education: 28.7% of adults aged 25–64 without a high school diploma lived in poverty, compared to only 7.6% of college graduates aged 25–64. From 2022 to 2023, poverty rose 2.9 points among less-educated adults, but by under a point for college graduates.

Most families in poverty have income from work.

• In 2023, nearly four in five of Californians in poverty lived in families with at least one working adult, excluding families with only adults 65 and older.
• About 43.7% of those in poverty had at least one family member working full time for the entire year and 35.3% had a family member who worked part time and/or part of the year.
• Among working adults aged 25–64, nearly one in ten were poor, with rates much higher among those working part time or part of the year (23.6%) as opposed to full time, full year (6.7%).