SAN FRANCISCO - In 2024, 10% of California workers aged 25–64 were living in poverty (or 1.6 million), according to the California Poverty Measure (CPM), a research effort by PPIC and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality that accounts for both the cost of living and safety net benefits. The 2024 CPM poverty threshold is $46,200 for a family of four, on average, but varies regionally.

• About half of adult workers living in poverty were employed full time (52%); the poverty rate for these workers was 7%. Almost four in ten (38%) worked part time for all of 2024; their poverty rate was much higher (24%). The poverty rate for the 11% who worked only part of the year (whether full or part time) was 20%.

• The 2024 poverty rate among workers was virtually unchanged from 2023 (9.8% or 1.5 million); it remained 1.7 points lower than it was before the pandemic (in 2019), due to wage growth in sectors that employ many low-wage workers.

• One-quarter of working Californians (4 million) were poor or near poor (with resources up to 1.5 times the CPM poverty line) in 2024, virtually the same share as in 2023; about 15% were near poor.

Poverty rates are highest among service and agricultural workers as well as Latino and less-educated workers.

• Across major sectors, 2024 poverty rates were highest among agricultural workers and workers in three service industries (administrative services, other services, and leisure and hospitality); more than 16% of these workers were living in poverty. Among workers in construction, the poverty rate was 14%.

• Across occupations, poverty rates were highest among workers in fishing, farming, forestry, and building and ground maintenance; one in four were living in poverty. Poverty rates among workers in food preparation and serving and in personal care were also high.

• Latinos comprise 56% of workers experiencing poverty but only 40% of all working adults. White workers make up a third of all working adults but only 21% of workers in poverty.

• About one-quarter (27%) of working adults living in poverty do not have a high school diploma, while 26% have only a high school diploma and 25% completed some college. Notably, more than two in ten (22%) working adults living in poverty (about 357,000) have at least a bachelor’s degree.

Across regions, poverty rates among working adults are highest in southern coastal California.

• The highest poverty rates among working adults were in Los Angeles County (13%) and Central Coast (12%), while the Sacramento area (8%) and Central Valley (8%) had the lowest rates.

• In regions with higher poverty rates among working adults, poverty was also higher among full-time workers; this points to multiple challenges in making ends meet, including low wages, expenses such as child care, access to safety net resources, and the cost of living.

Earnings make up a large portion of the budgets of workers in poverty.

• Average annual earnings for families of workers living in poverty totaled $33,300 in 2024, constituting 87% of overall resources. Safety net benefits accounted for most remaining resources, with state and federal tax credits playing a large role. Without safety net benefits, an additional 4% (610,000) would be in poverty.

• Because many safety net programs target families with children, poor working adults with no children rely more heavily on earnings: in 2024, 92% of these workers’ annual resources (or $27,000), on average, came from earnings. Earnings make up 82% of household resources for working parents in poverty; additional resources came mainly from federal and state Earned Income Tax Credits (7%) and CalFresh (6%). (Source: PPIC)

Story Date: August 20, 2026