{"id":9044,"date":"2023-01-12T11:31:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9044"},"modified":"2023-01-12T11:32:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:32:32","slug":"new-study-shows-ca-cost-of-living-so-high-that-180k-is-new-middle-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9044","title":{"rendered":"New Study Shows CA Cost-of-Living So High that $180k is New \u201cMiddle Class\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The original story can be read\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kogo.iheart.com\/featured\/the-demaio-report\/content\/2023-01-12-new-study-shows-ca-cost-of-living-so-high-that-180k-is-new-middle-class\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h5>By <span class=\"author\">Dylan Martin<\/span><\/h5>\n<h3>Pew Research releases new data showing that Californians are suffering the highest cost of living in the country. Earning as much as $180k would still put someone in the \u201cMiddle Class\u201d in some parts of the state. Reform California breaks down the reasons why the state is so unaffordable and how to fix it.<\/h3>\n<p>California\u2019s cost-of-living has gotten so expensive that a six-figure household income is barely \u201cMiddle Class\u201d in most parts of the state.<\/p>\n<p>Carl DeMaio, chairman of the tax-fighting group Reform California, says he\u2019s not surprised that the results of a study recently released by the Pew Research Center show California has the highest cost-of-living of any state in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia\u2019s liberal politicians have been increasing taxes and regulations for years \u2014 all of which contribute to skyrocketing costs,\u201d said DeMaio. \u201cGovernor Gavin Newsom and the California Democrats claim to be for the middle class, but when you look at the numbers, you almost have to ask if they actually hate the middle class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio broke down some of Pew\u2019s figures for California:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In San Diego County, to be part of the middle class, residents have to earn between a low of $61,000 and a high of $182,000. The median middle class income is $121,500.<\/li>\n<li>In San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, to be part of the middle class, residents have to earn between a low of $77,000 and a high of $232,000. The median middle class income is $154,500.<\/li>\n<li>In Los Angeles, to be part of the middle class, residents have to earn between a low of $55,000 and a high of $110,000. The median middle class income is $65,000.<\/li>\n<li>In Riverside, to be part of the middle class, residents have to earn between a low of $51,000 and a high of $154,000. The median middle class income is $102,500.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But why is the barrier to entry for the middle class so high in California? DeMaio says it comes down to a few main reasons: housing costs, labor costs, high gas and utility rates, and high taxes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHousing costs are the biggest contributor to California\u2019s high cost of living, and the costs are so high because liberal politicians have imposed mandates, fees, construction delays, excessive permits and more,\u201d said DeMaio. \u201cThe labor costs to build these houses are also excessive due to union deals and strict labor laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waiting periods are reflected in housing prices at as much as 23.4 percent of the total price. Government regulation overall may explain, on average, 40 percent of California\u2019s housing costs. In addition, a study by the Terner Center found that projects paying union wages to construction workers could cost $50,000 more per apartment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of this contributes to home prices being hundreds of thousands of dollars more expensive in California than in a state like Texas,\u201d DeMaio continued.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the reasons for California\u2019s high housing costs\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kogo.iheart.com\/featured\/the-demaio-report\/content\/2022-04-01-no-more-local-control-how-ca-politicians-seized-power-on-housing-projects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>HERE<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio says that high water, gas, and electric rates are also contributing to California\u2019s affordability dilemma \u2014 with many Californians paying nearly double the national average for these services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia\u2019s liberal politicians are jacking utility rates through a combination of poor water management, failure to appropriately scale our electric grid, and imposing high taxes and fees,\u201d explained DeMaio.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the reasons for California\u2019s high utility costs\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kogo.iheart.com\/featured\/the-demaio-report\/content\/2022-05-24-lights-out-in-ca-how-democrats-choked-off-our-electricity-supply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>HERE<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio broke down how gasoline and these high utility costs translate into a family\u2019s yearly spending:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>California\u2019s gas is $2.50 higher than the national average. For a two car family, gas taxes and fees could add up to an extra $6,500 per year that a family would need to earn in California to cover the costs.<\/li>\n<li>If you round to paying double the rest of the country for electricity and gas, families owe an extra $100 per month \u2014 or $1,200 per year \u2014 over the national average.<\/li>\n<li>If you round to paying double the rest of the country for water, families owe an extra $100 per month \u2014 or $1,200 per year \u2014 over the national average.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Total: Families owe nearly\u00a0<u>$9,000 more per year<\/u>\u00a0living in California versus living in the rest of the nation when just counting the cost of gas and utilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe barrier to entry for the middle class in California is astronomical, and most of it is self-imposed by California\u2019s liberal politicians,\u201d said DeMaio. \u201cBut all of this can be changed, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re leading the fight in 2023 and 2024 to make California affordable again by stopping tax hikes and electing common sense leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the Fight:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.reformcalifornia.org\/contribute-stop-the-tax-hikes?utm_source=dylan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><strong>Stop the Tax Hikes<\/strong><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The original story can be read\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kogo.iheart.com\/featured\/the-demaio-report\/content\/2023-01-12-new-study-shows-ca-cost-of-living-so-high-that-180k-is-new-middle-class\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content addtoany_content_bottom\">\n<div class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9041\" data-a2a-title=\"California\u2019s Budget Black Hole: Where Did the $97.5 Billion Surplus Go?\"><em>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/g\/Doucefleur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Doucefleur<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The original story can be read\u00a0here. By Dylan Martin Pew Research releases new data showing that Californians are suffering the highest cost of living in the country. Earning as much as $180k would still put someone in the \u201cMiddle Class\u201d in some parts of the state. Reform California breaks down the reasons why the state&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Study Shows CA Cost-of-Living So High that $180k is New \u201cMiddle Class\u201d - San Diego News Desk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9044\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Study Shows CA Cost-of-Living So High that $180k is New \u201cMiddle Class\u201d - San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The original story can be read\u00a0here. 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