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Who’s in Poverty in California?

This interactive shows poverty rates from the first quarter of 2023 across demographic groups in California, according to the California Poverty Measure (CPM).

Fact Sheet

Income Inequality in California

By Tess Thorman, Daniel Payares-Montoya

California’s income gap narrowed in 2022, but the disparity between high and low incomes is wider in California than in most other states. Over the longer term, income inequality has been driven by earnings growth among college-educated workers.

Fact Sheet

The Medi-Cal Program

By Shannon McConville, Paulette Cha

Medi-Cal is a state-federal program that provides 12 million low-income Californians with comprehensive health insurance.

blog post

Human Trafficking in California

By Heather Harris

California accounts for a declining share of the human trafficking incidents that occur nationally. But detecting human trafficking is challenging, and understanding the scope of trafficking is critical to combatting this kind of exploitation.

Fact Sheet

Public Health Insurance in California

By Shalini Mustala, Paulette Cha

More than half of Californians are covered by public health insurance—mainly Medi-Cal, which covers low-income residents, and Medicare, which covers most adults aged 65 and older. The state is preparing to expand Medi-Cal to all low-income Californians, regardless of age or immigration status.

Report

Police Use of Force and Misconduct in California

By Deepak Premkumar, Alexandria Gumbs, Shannon McConville, Renee Hsia

Nearly 200 Californians die each year in police encounters. Amid growing concern over civilian deaths and racial injustice, we examine what the existing data can—and cannot—tell us about police use of force and misconduct. We also offer recommendations for strengthening the state’s ongoing efforts to improve police transparency and accountability.

Report

Will California Run Out of College Graduates?

By Hans Johnson, Sarah Bohn, Marisol Cuellar Mejia

California’s higher education system is a critical driver of the state’s economic progress. As the state’s economy continues to change, will its workforce be ready for the jobs of tomorrow?

This report updates and extends projections of California’s workforce skills through 2030, focusing on the supply and demand for workers with a bachelor’s degree. We find that the state will fall about 1.1 million college graduates short of economic demand if current trends persist—a problem we call the workforce skills gap. Even the arrival of highly educated workers from elsewhere is unlikely to be large enough to fill this gap.

Today’s college graduates have better economic outcomes than those who do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Over time, college graduates have seen lower rates of unemployment and higher wages than other workers—even through the Great Recession—suggesting that college degrees have become increasingly valuable in California’s labor market.

The future workforce skills gap looms large. But California and its higher education institutions can take several practical steps to close it. The core of a new plan for higher education should include increasing access to the state’s four-year institutions, improving college completion rates, expanding transfer pathways from community colleges, and being smart about aid programs.

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