2013 was the first year since 2006 in which California home prices increased significantly.
Building permits for residential construction dropped sharply after the collapse of the housing bubble. They are recovering slowly.
In recent decades, Californians have spent more of their income on housing, health care, and other services not subject to the state and local sales tax.
Particularly under a newer U.S. government poverty measure, the Research Supplemental Poverty Measure, California's poverty rate is much higher than that of the rest of the country.