California is Wealthy, yet many Residents live in Poverty

According to government data and the “Best & Worst State Economies” report by WalletHub, a personal finance website, California ranks second in job growth in the nation. The WalletHub’s report ranked California fifth for the percentage of high-tech jobs, fifth for startups, and second for “innovation potential.” Despite these rankings, one in four people in California is poor according to one federal standard. The median individual income in Los Angeles County is around $28,000 a year, which is not enough to afford the $2,600 median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the county. Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub, states:

This study’s results mirror that issue, California ranked poorly in terms of its share of population living below the poverty level (33rd), underemployment (49th) and unemployment (35th). These lower rankings contributed to the state’s rank of 26th in the economic health category.

California is full of enormous wealth, but at the same time it is also one of the states that lead the nation in poverty. In fact, the economic boom in California is causing some of the issue that the state is having. California attracts several people for work and that places more of a demand on the need for additional housing. Housing costs and rising rents by far outpace wage gains in California. Something must be done to fix the housing crisis and the report by WalletHub show just how bad things are becoming in the Golden State.

Read the full article here