California, despite being the world’s fourth-largest economy, as Gov. Gavin Newsom boasts, also has the nation’s highest poverty rate, with more than one in six residents living in poverty.
California again posted the nation’s highest poverty rate in 2024 at 17.7%, tied with Louisiana, Census data shows. Although the rate has decreased from 18.9% in 2023, it still leaves nearly 7 million Californians unable to afford essentials like food, housing, and medical care.
In a report by The Sacramento Bee, California had only managed to see improvements in recent years because of federal largesse: “Laura Pryor, the research director for the California Budget & Policy Center, noted that the state’s poverty rate dropped to a historic low of 11% after federal policies were implemented to help Americans weather the COVID-19 pandemic.”
With federal aid ending, poverty rose as Gov. Newsom turned a $100 billion surplus into two years of deficits. California also posted the nation’s highest state unemployment rate at 5.5%, above Louisiana’s 4.5%, with only D.C. higher at 6.0%.
Newsom had previously declared in April: “California isn’t just keeping pace with the world—we’re setting the pace. Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability, and believe in the power of innovation.”
And yet, the blue state ranks tied with Louisiana out of all fifty states when it comes to the highest poverty rate, a statistic the governor has yet to address or fix. For example, Newsom’s efforts to combat homelessness in California span over two decades, beginning with his tenure as San Francisco mayor in 2003, when he launched a pioneering 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness through the Housing First strategy, yet the city’s homeless population rose by 30 percent. Unsheltered cases surged 63 percent despite a 62 percent funding increase.
As governor since 2019, Newsom has invested more than $24 billion in state programs, including initiatives like Project Homekey and Proposition 1 funding for behavioral health housing. Still, California’s homeless population has continued to grow to nearly 187,000 people, representing about one-quarter of the nation’s total and drawing criticism for ineffective spending and lack of accountability.
