FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2020

CONTACT: Brooke Armour
(916) 553-4093

SACRAMENTO— The US Census Bureau released their 2019 Supplemental Poverty Measure report, indicating California again led all other states with the highest cost of living adjusted rate at 17.2 percent. California consistently has had the highest rate among the states since this data series was begun in 2011. While DC had a higher rate than California in 4 of these years, California led DC as well in the 2019 numbers.

California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley issued the following statement today in response to this new data: 

“More than 2/3 of Americans pushed into poverty by rising costs of living are in this state, putting California once again at the top of the list for highest supplemental poverty rate. Driven by our housing crisis, more and more Californians are finding it impossible to make ends meet. 2.2 million Californians are living in poverty. Now is not the time to raise $11.5 billion in new taxes and drive up the cost on everything from food, gas, daycare and other daily essentials. That is why CBRT is part of a broad-based, bipartisan effort to defeat Proposition 15 on the November ballot.”

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