blog post New Progress in California Water Rights Reform By Sarah Bardeen Dec 5, 2023 Many have argued that California’s water rights laws are sorely in need of modernization. Is recent legislation taking a step in that direction? We spoke with two legal experts to find out.
Fact Sheet College Readiness in California By Iwunze Ugo, Laura Hill Dec 4, 2023 More Californians are graduating from high school, but many graduates are underprepared for higher education and there are racial/ethnic and income disparities. Closing these gaps will require sustained efforts across the state's K–12 system.
Fact Sheet College Access in California By Iwunze Ugo Dec 4, 2023 About three in five Californians enroll in college right after high school. But whether—and where—high school graduates attend college varies across regions and demographic groups.
Fact Sheet Financing California’s Public Schools By Julien Lafortune Nov 29, 2023 K–12 funding has been at record-high levels in recent years, and California’s per student spending is now slightly above the national average. Spending is higher for low-income students, English Learners, and foster youth. However, enrollment declines, rising costs, and the expiration of pandemic funding pose fiscal challenges for school districts.
blog post Is the American Dream in California Dying? By Dean Bonner Nov 27, 2023 Majorities of Californians—61%—believe that the American Dream is harder to achieve here than elsewhere. Support for policies that could improve economic well-being in the state is widespread.
blog post How Are Californians Viewing the 2024 Elections? By Mark Baldassare Nov 8, 2023 One year out from the 2024 general election, we take stock of key races for federal office as well as some state propositions that are headed for the ballot.
blog post California’s Changing Immigration Is Reshaping Its Electorate By Eric McGhee Nov 2, 2023 In recent years, immigration to California has slowed from all countries, and Asia has overtaken Latin America as the prime source. These shifts have immediate implications for the state’s electorate.
Report Priorities for California’s Water By Jeffrey Mount, Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson ... Nov 1, 2023 California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future?
blog post California’s Violent Crime Rate Is Diverging from the National Trend By Magnus Lofstrom Nov 1, 2023 In the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, California's violent crime rate roughly mirrored the nationwide trend. But as of 2022, California's violent crime rate is nearly one-third higher than the US rate, a divergence driven largely by aggravated assaults.
blog post Soft Landing? What the Latest Data Says about California’s Economy By Jenny Duan, Sarah Bohn Oct 30, 2023 New jobs data suggests that taming inflation has not hurt the state's labor market much. While unemployment in California has increased slowly since a low in August 2022, the state's labor market still shows many markers of strength.