Californians are ‘gloomy’ about the economy, new statewide survey says
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- PPIC survey shows Californians growing gloomy about the state economy and jobs.
- One in three households cut food or sought CalFresh as income and costs strain.
- Majority expect worse finances next year; unemployment and housing affordability worsen.
Californians are “decidedly gloomy” about the future of the state’s economy — and nearly one of three state residents said someone in their home has cut back on food in the past year.
Those were among the sobering findings of a new Public Policy Institute of California survey of state residents taken October 16 to 30..
“Fueling this pessimism? More than 8 in 10 residents say the availability of well-paying jobs in their part of California is a big problem or somewhat of a problem,” said the PPIC analysis.
The poll found that most Californians are satisfied with their current financial situation, but they’re worried about what’s to come. The number of Californians who view the availability of well-paying jobs as a big problem is up 8 percentage points from a year ago, to 28%.
“Californians have been gloomy about the economy and affordability for several years now, and it’s altering their big-picture thinking,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC statewide survey director.
A fragile California economy
Most independent analysts have said for months that the state has a fragile economy. Its unemployment rate has been the highest among all states, and the state ranked last in affordability in recent surveys by US News and WalletHub.
The future is shaky, the forecasts say. This fall’s UCLA Anderson forecast predicted the state unemployment rate will inch higher at the beginning of 2026 before falling in the second half.
California residents feel the pain.
Fifty-one percent said the state is headed in the wrong direction, while 48% say the state is going in the right direction.
But 68% see the state as having bad times financially in the next year. The concern is widespread geographically. The percentages of those seeing tough times ahead: Los Angeles, 71%; Central Valley, 69%; Orange County/San Diego, 67%; Inland Empire, 65% and San Francisco Bay Area, 63%.
Gov. Gavin Newsom gets 52% approval for his handling of the economy, well above the 27% for President Donald Trump or 17% for Congress.
Lower income earners suffer
The gloom is worse for lower income households. The survey found 30% of Californians said someone in their household has cut back on food to save money in the past year.
Fifty-two percent of those earning less than $40,000 have had to limit food purchases, while 51% said someone in their household has received CalFresh benefits in the last year.
Despite all this gloom, three of four Californians said they are very or somewhat satisfied with their financial situation.
But those earning less than $40,000 are more likely to be dissatisfied, as 49% described their situation that way.
African Americans overall are more apt to say they’re unsatisfied, as 53% described their financial situations that way. Twenty-eight percent of Latinos, 24% of Asian Americans and 21% of whites said they were unhappy with their situation.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Californians are ‘gloomy’ about the economy, new statewide survey says."
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