California - The Worst State to live in
Gavin Newsom - California Governor
Because of Gavin Newsom’s policies and leadership, California is now one of the worst states to live in. It has high homelessness, unemployment, taxes, and living costs. California ranks near the bottom in many areas, making it hard to understand how he and similar leaders stay in power. While Newsom’s net worth grows to about $30 million, even though his salary is only $242,295, people in the state keep struggling under his policies.
Housing Affordability
One of the most persistent and widely discussed criticisms is California's ongoing housing crisis. The state consistently ranks among those with the highest median home prices and rental costs in the entire United States. Many experts and residents alike attribute these soaring costs to a combination of restrictive zoning laws, a slow and cumbersome permit approval process, and a significant shortage of available housing units relative to the overwhelming demand. As a result, this situation has driven an exodus of residents seeking more affordable living conditions elsewhere. This crisis remains a highly visible and complex challenge that continues to intensify across California. Critics argue that although the Newsom administration has introduced numerous initiatives to address these issues, their efforts have not been sufficiently aggressive or effective to meaningfully stem the tide of this escalating problem.
High Cost of Living and Taxes
Beyond housing, the overall cost of living in California is extraordinarily high. The state imposes steep sales taxes, elevated gas taxes, and possesses the highest top marginal income tax rate in the entire country. Many critics argue that these heavy tax rates, combined with steadily increasing utility expenses and a complex web of regulatory requirements, place a significant financial strain on middle and lower-income families. This burden makes it increasingly challenging for these households to achieve and maintain financial stability. As a result, both businesses and residents are often compelled to relocate to states with more favorable, lower tax environments to reduce their economic pressures.
Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment
Issues with infrastructure, including aging water systems, power grid reliability, and traffic congestion, are also frequently cited. Additionally, many businesses and critics argue that California's extensive regulatory environment and bureaucratic processes make it a difficult and expensive state to operate in, leading to slower economic growth and job creation compared to other parts of the country.
It's important to note that, conversely, supporters of Newsom and the state's policies often highlight California's robust economy (the largest state economy in the U.S.), its leadership in environmental protection, its world-class universities, and its role as a global center for technology and innovation as reasons why it remains a highly desirable place to live for many.
Critics of Governor Gavin Newsom's policies frequently argue that his tenure has exacerbated several existing problems, making life unaffordable and challenging for many residents. These criticisms generally focus on the state's housing crisis, high cost of living, and issues related to public safety and homelessness.
Exacerbated Homelessness
Despite the administration’s efforts to significantly increase the state's budget for homelessness intervention—now running into billions of dollars—critics emphasize that California continues to have the largest unsheltered homeless population in the nation. Many contend that relying primarily on the "housing first" strategy has been insufficient, because it often fails to fully address the underlying mental health and substance abuse challenges that affect a substantial portion of the unhoused community. Without comprehensive support systems in place, these issues perpetuate homelessness rather than helping individuals achieve sustained stability.
Governor Newsom has recently urged cities to ban and clear homeless encampments, a move welcomed by some public safety advocates but strongly criticized by homeless advocates, who argue that such "punitive approaches" only criminalize poverty and make it harder for people to find stable housing.
California leads the nation in homelessness at over 187,000 people.
Economic Strain and Regulatory Environment
Critics also cite the economic policies under Newsom as contributing to a decline in quality of life. California has the highest top marginal income tax rate in the country, high gas taxes, and a generally high regulatory burden, which critics argue drives businesses and middle-class residents—evidenced by net domestic outmigration—to leave the state in search of lower costs.
Regulatory Red Tape
While the administration has signed laws to exempt certain housing and infrastructure projects from portions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), critics maintain that the overall regulatory environment continues to stifle development and increase costs for consumers and businesses.
Crime and Public Safety Concerns
Concerns have also been raised regarding public safety and a perceived increase in certain types of crime, particularly property crime such as burglaries and thefts. Critics often point to policies like Proposition 47, which reclassified certain felonies as misdemeanors, along with broader shifts in criminal justice reform, as key factors contributing to what they see as a more lenient environment for offenders. While crime statistics can be interpreted in various ways and tend to vary significantly depending on the locality, the widespread perception of reduced safety remains a major and influential factor in the ongoing debate about the state's overall livability and quality of life. Perceptions of a decline in public safety are a significant source of criticism. Critics argue that prior criminal justice reforms, coupled with a lack of jail and prison capacity, have created a system that is too lenient on certain crimes. For example, the state's felony theft threshold of $950 is cited as contributing to repeat property crime. Crime has been on the rise in California when compared to the rest of the US as shown in the graph below.
California’s rising violent crime rate vs the rest of the US
In summary, the argument that California is one of the worst states to live in under Governor Newsom is rooted in the combination of skyrocketing costs, s rising crime rate, a homelessness crisis, and persistent concerns over the efficacy of public spending and public safety policies.
Economic and Tax-Related Metrics
California's tax policy and business climate are often cited for its poor rankings:
Tax Progressivity: Ranked 50th (worst) for Personal Income Tax Progressivity in one economic outlook report.
Top Marginal Personal Income Tax Rate: Ranked near the bottom (48th) for its high marginal personal income tax rate.
Right-to-Work State Status: Ranked 50th (not a Right-to-Work state).
Economic Outlook: Ranks poorly in forward-looking forecasts of economic competitiveness (47th in one recent ALEC-Laffer index).
Worst-Run State: Has been ranked as the "Worst Run State" in the past, often due to high debt levels and a poor credit rating.
Affordability and Quality of Life
The state's high cost of living drives many of its lowest rankings:
Affordability/Cost of Living: California is frequently ranked as one of the least affordable states. This factor often contributes to its last-place or near-last-place ranking in overall "best states to live" or "best states to move to" surveys.
Opportunity: Ranked last in the country in the overall Opportunity category in one U.S. News ranking, largely because of low affordability.
Quality of Life for Families: Ranked as the worst state to raise a family in one 2025 study, citing poor affordability, education, and overall quality of life.
Supplemental Poverty Rate: Using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (which accounts for cost of living and non-cash benefits), California has been shown to have the highest poverty rate in the United States.
Housing Costs: The state is widely known for having extremely high housing costs and related issues like homelessness, which Californians consistently rank as major issues facing the state.
Other Near-Bottom Rankings
Minimum Wage: Ranked near the bottom (49th) for its high state minimum wage in economic competitiveness reports.
Workers' Compensation Costs: Ranked poorly ( 48th) for high average workers' compensation costs.
Education and Health (Combined Index): In one "best states to move" survey, California ranked very low (49th) in the combined Education & Health category.
