California – its advantages and its challenges
California is the 4th largest economy in the world, and it has been growing quickly. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/04/23/california-is-now-the-4th-largest-economy-in-the-world/
Californian’s per capita income ranked 4th in the nation. https://www.statsamerica.org/sip/rank_list.aspx?rank_label=pcpi1 However, income distribution is widely skewed towards the very wealthy and that gap has been steadily widening since 1980. https://www.ppic.org/publication/income-inequality-in-california/ Trump economic policies worsen the nation’s income inequality quite substantially. https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/combined-distributional-effects-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-and-tariffs-0
Californian’s life expectancy is top five in the nation. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-us-life-expectancy-by-state/ However we have wide variations (10 years) in average life expectancy by race and ethnicity. https://www.chcf.org/resource/health-disparities-by-race-and-ethnicity-in-california-almanac/
California’s infant mortality rate is second in the nation. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/infant-mortality-rate-by-state
California was 24th In overall health rankings. https://assets.americashealthrankings.org/ahr_2025annualreport-statesummaries_all.pdf Its high rankings in non-smoking, its low rates of obesity and its low rates of children with adverse childhood experiences were offset by its high rates of air pollution, homelessness, low access to primary care doctors, and lack of affordable housing.
California ranks among the top 5 in the nation for higher education; this includes both the top-quality schools, such as Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA and CalTech, the breadth and excellence of its state university system, and the quality, affordability and accessibility of its community colleges. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education/higher-education Trump’s assaults on the UC system have been blocked in the courts. https://www.aaup.org/news/win-aaup-v-trump-court-blocks-attacks-university-california-system#:~:text=Shortly%20thereafter%2C%20the%20administration%20sent,here%20and%20the%20order%20here. Trump’s attacks on higher education have been multi-pronged, extensive and continuous. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_policy_of_the_second_Trump_administration
California agriculture is tops in the nation in value, productivity and output. https://www.unitedag.org/news/how-agriculture-makes-california-a-leader-in-the-global-economy/ Trump tariff wars, immigration and Middle East war policies are badly hurting California’s farmers and farming communities. https://calmatters.org/economy/2025/11/immigration-california-farms/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrWLw5kIQY
On the negative side, California’s K-12 education system ranks in the bottom third of the nation. https://edsource.org/2024/california-ranks-bottom-third-in-overall-child-well-being-per-new-report/713965 Enrollment is declining due to reduced birth rates and Trump’s assault on immigrant families. https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-k-12-students/ and https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/public-k-12-graded-enrollment/ Enrollment is shifting towards charter public schools as parents seek better educational opportunities for their children. https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-k-12-students/ There have been small but steady improvements in student test scores since the Covid pandemic. https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr25/yr25rel43.asp#:~:text=In%20total%2C%20the%20proportions%20of,and%2014.1%20percent%20in%20science.
California homes are expensive compared to the rest of the nation. https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/793 Would-be first-time buyers face a lethal affordability combination of high mortgage interest rates and high entry level prices.
California has one of the worst homelessness problems in the nation due to its lack of an adequate supply of affordable housing; it has however, been making large strides in providing shelter to the homeless, far exceeding the nation’s progress. https://www.ppic.org/blog/homelessness-hits-record-high-in-california-jumps-dramatically-in-rest-of-us/ Our state’s homeless problems are due to several overlapping issues: failure of local governments to authorize adequate home building to meet the state and region’s population growth, federal and state deinstitutionalization policies, and the failures of the national and state policy makers to prioritize, fund and implement the development of affordable housing and effective substance abuse and mental health treatments. https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/homelessness-california-causes-and-policy-considerations
California is vitally important for the nation’s international trade. We are the second largest exporter. https://ustr.gov/map/state-benefits/ca We are the nation’s largest importer. https://advocacy.calchamber.com/2026/03/03/california-remains-top-exporting-state/ Trump tariffs have hurt our state’s roles, its ports, and its long-standing trade partnerships in international commerce. https://advocacy.calchamber.com/2026/03/03/california-remains-top-exporting-state/
Immigrants are a huge (27%) share of California’s population, a third of workers, an even larger share (40%) of its entrepreneurs, its children’s parents (5.6 million), and they work in vital industries from technology and home building to agriculture and nursing. https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/california/ Trump immigration policies have caused enormous disruption throughout our state from the farms to the cities, from the schools to the workplace, from our neighborhoods to our places of worship. https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/12/immigration-2025-year-in-review/ and https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2025/12/24/trumps-war-on-ice-fearing-catholics/
California is well on its way to transition to cleaner energy and energy independence. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/20/california-renewable-energy The Trump Administration is doing everything it possibly can to block California’s progress. This includes for examples repealing tax credits for solar installation and electric vehicles, buying out and disabling our wind generated power. https://www.edf.org/media/trump-administrations-wasteful-deal-abandon-california-offshore-wind-project-undermines-clean#:~:text=%22The%20Trump%20administration%20announced%20another%20wasteful%20deal,million%20in%20taxpayer%20funds%20to%20abandon%20its
California has made enormous progress towards universal coverage for all its residents (from over 17% uninsured to under 6%). https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/california-health-coverage-progress-disparities-and-policy-threats/ Trump has set back this progress through two important steps in reverse – cuts in MediCal eligibility and large reductions in premium assistance through the Exchanges (Covered California).
For a comparison of the positions of the California gubernatorial candidates, see https://www.cbsnews.com/projects/2026/ca-gov-voter-guide/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17