blog post Public School Enrollment Declines Vary across Grade Levels By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty May 4, 2023 California’s public school enrollment decreased slightly in 2022–23 and has now fallen for six years in a row. While the latest enrollment levels in grades 2 through 12 were close to projections, enrollment in earlier grades fell short.
blog post Housing Costs Have Californians Considering an Interstate Move By Dean Bonner Mar 27, 2023 More than four in ten Californians say that housing costs have made them seriously consider moving, and an overwhelming majority of this group say they would leave the state. The share of Californians considering a move out of the state has about doubled across all income and education groups since 2004.
blog post California’s African American Community By Eric McGhee Feb 22, 2023 The African American community in California has never been large, but it has been vital to our state’s political, economic, and cultural history. We look at how California’s African American population has changed over time and how it is faring.
blog post Homeless Populations Are Rising around California By Jennifer Paluch, Joseph Herrera Feb 21, 2023 Between 2020 and 2022, California’s homeless population increased by 6%. While this growth was largely concentrated in urban areas, the number of people experiencing homelessness declined in San Francisco and Orange County.
blog post California’s Highly Educated Immigrants By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Hans Johnson Jan 30, 2023 Recent immigrants to California are among the most educated residents of the state. More than half of the working-age immigrants who arrived over the past ten years hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
blog post California’s Plunging Birth Rates By Hans Johnson Jan 26, 2023 The birth rate in California is at its lowest level in more than 100 years. We examine what is driving this trend and discuss some of the implications for our state’s future.
blog post Adapting to a Water-Scarce California By Ellen Hanak Jan 9, 2023 With the arrival of a series of atmospheric rivers, drought-weary Californians are now confronting the weather whiplash that’s a hallmark of our state’s climate. But the current deluge won’t erase California’s water challenges. PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak reflects on what happened with California’s water in 2022—and explores how to manage the resource in our increasingly volatile climate.
blog post How Is Remote Work Affecting Worker Preferences and the Economy? By Dean Bonner, Sarah Bohn Dec 13, 2022 More than one-third of employed Californians say they work from home either all the time or sometimes. But the ability to work remotely varies across industries, occupations, and regions, with significant implications for job-seeking patterns and economic opportunity.
blog post The Troubled History—and Uncertain Future—of the Salton Sea By Sarah Bardeen Nov 22, 2022 Southern California’s hundred-year-old Salton Sea is drying up, and that’s creating a host of problems, as both wildlife and air quality in the region suffer. We sat down with an expert—UC Riverside professor and PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Kurt Schwabe—to discuss the issues facing the sea and explore potential solutions.
blog post California’s Native American Community By Eric McGhee Nov 15, 2022 The native people of California have lived in the state for tens of thousands of years and today represent a vibrant part of the California community. While California’s native community is the smallest among all major racial and ethnic groups, seven in ten Native Americans also identify with another race.
