California has a top-ranked economy. It’s also one of the nation’s most unequal

California’s next governor — most likely former Attorney General Xavier Becerra — will inherit a raft of knotty, unresolved issues.

Some, such as the high rate of homelessness and very high cost of living, predate current Gov. Gavin Newsom. Others, such as the chronic multibillion-dollar budget deficit and stubbornly high unemployment rate, arose more recently.

A perennial question about such issues is whether they are unique to or more pronounced in California than other states. Comparisons are difficult because definitions vary and comparable data are difficult to track down.

By coincidence, however, two recent academic studies shed light on how California stands vis-a-vis the nation’s 49 other states.

One is called “State of the States,” an offshoot of a “State of the Nation” research project sponsored by Tulane University’s Murphy Institute that aims to cut through partisan chatter and define the nation’s most cogent issues.

The study found “California ranks higher, on average, on the topics of Economy (1), Trust (3), Mental Health (3), and Children and Families (3), but lower on Work and Labor Force (48), Inequality (49), and Environment (50). California also outperforms its West neighbors in 3 of the 14 topics and is improving over time on 9 of the 31 measures.”

Although California’s political figures, most notably Newsom, like to depict the state as a leader on socioeconomic equity and environmental protection, it’s at or near the bottom on both issues. It’s also close to the bottom on educational achievement, volunteerism and freedom of the press.

Texas, one of the states often compared to California, generally does better on the issues where California has fallen behind, such as freedom of the press. However, it too, has some glaring deficiencies, such as environment and voter participation.

One of the widest disparities is residents’ satisfaction with their current lives. Texas ranks near the top while California is well below median in that category.

The second study comes from the Berkeley Economy & Society Initiative, a project at UC Berkeley backed by the Hewlett Foundation. It issued two in a series of reports on California’s high cost of living.

The first report declares “California is less affordable and poorer than it should be given the strength of our economy,” and “is systematically more expensive” than other places with similar median incomes.

“Unaffordability doesn’t just create and worsen poverty,” it noted. “People are voting against California’s high costs with their feet. Throughout its history, California has been a magnet for migrants from other states chasing opportunity. Not any longer.

“Since the 2008 recession, California has experienced sustained domestic out-migration. The trend has accelerated in more recent years. Between 2020 and 2024, California had the second-lowest net migration to/from other states, as a percentage of the population, following only New York. We present evidence indicating that unaffordability is a primary cause of California’s migration inversion.”

The project’s second report delves into the causes of unaffordability, declaring, “In our analysis, the foremost driver of high costs in California is a policy regime that makes it difficult to build the physical infrastructure we need to deliver housing, energy, water, and other essentials.

“Growth restrictions drive unaffordability primarily by reducing housing supply and increasing housing costs. They also contribute to high energy and transportation costs by increasing the price tag on critical public infrastructure — creating downstream costs for consumers.”

The report also lists a series of steps California could take to attack unaffordability, including embracing factory-built housing and innovative financing models to spur affordable housing the state needs.

This is just a brief overview of what the two research projects have to say about California’s issues compared to other states. If the next governor and legislators are serious about improving the state’s standing, they should dive into the details.