Struggling to Move Up: The Real Cost Measure in California 2021

The Real Cost Measure seeks to assess the true costs of living in California and the hardships households face in meeting them. Many households find they earn too much to qualify for most public services, yet still struggle to meet their most basic needs. Race, single motherhood, education level, and foreign-born status are all factors that correlate with economic conditions.

Richard Vogel for AP

The federal government’s official poverty measure vastly understates poverty. As a result, the true extent of families contending with deprivation is hidden.

By Peter Manzo, Henry Gascon, Betsy Baum Block, and Dan Beeby, United Ways of California | 7/2021

More than one in three households — 32%, over 3.5 million families — do not earn sufficient income to meet their basic costs of living. This is roughly three times the proportion officially considered poor in California, according to the Federal poverty level. Read More