Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - Recent changes were made to the publication of statistics required to calculate the California Necessities Index, which is used to adjust certain benefit rates and cost-of-living adjustments. In this brief, we provide details on the changes and evaluate alternatives for the index that require only currently available data and conform to the original intent of the index.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5065

Updating the California Necessities Index [Publication Details]

Aug 14, 2025 - Recent changes were made to the publication of statistics required to calculate the California Necessities Index, which is used to adjust certain benefit rates and cost-of-living adjustments. In this brief, we provide details on the changes and evaluate alternatives for the index that require only currently available data and conform to the original intent of the index.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5065

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Most Low-Wage Workers Live With at Least One Other Worker. Compared to mid-to-high-wage workers, low-wage workers are much less likely to live in households with exactly two workers and much more likely to live in households with three or more workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1

Evaluation of the Property Tax Postponement Program

Oct 8, 2018 - All else equal, a low ‑income person living in Santa Clara County is likely to spend more on housing than a person with the same income living in Imperial County. Participation PTP Historically Has Had Low Participation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3885

Local Sales Tax Rebates in 2023-24

Sep 16, 2025 - One-quarter of Californians live in a jurisdiction that paid rebates in 2023-24. Focusing on these areas, Figure  3 displays the distribution of rebate payments across jurisdictions, weighted by the number of residents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5074

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Single parents with one, two, or three children live in one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom apartments, respectively. An adult couple without children live in a studio/efficiency. An adult couple with one or two children live in a two-bedroom apartment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4

California’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences [Publication Details]

Mar 17, 2015 - California’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences [Publication Details] Infographic Description: Living in decent, affordable, and reasonably located housing is vitally important to every Californian.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3214

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - We make this comparison across several different types of h ouseholds, with varying numbers of adults and children: For a single parent with three children, the statewide minimum wage is right around the poverty level.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3

The 2023-24 Budget: Considering Inflation's Effects on State Programs

Nov 16, 2022 - As  a  result, we  can say that the “real ” value of the state ’s dollar h as declined 10 percent. Lowers Quantity of Services. One of the most common impacts of elevated inflation for spending programs is a reduction in the quantity of state services provided.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647

Do Communities Adequately Plan for Housing?

Mar 8, 2017 - Households unwilling or unable to pay these high costs are forced to live somewhere else. Households forced to live somewhere else do not show up in California’s past demographic trends and therefore are not reflected in RHNA calculations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3605