$100K is ‘low income’ in even more CA counties

Amid pledges from Democratic legislative leaders to make California more affordable, there is persistent evidence that the state’s high cost of living won’t get better anytime soon. 

The latest comes from California’s housing department, which recently released its annual report detailing how much households can earn in each of California’s 58 counties to be eligible for various government programs, including housing assistance programs.

One striking takeaway? Earning a six-figure salary as a single person without dependents is considered “low income” in five counties — all in Northern California.

Residents making an annual income of up to $109,700 who are living in Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties are considered low income, according to the California Department of Housing & Community Development. Topping the list is Santa Clara County, the home of Silicon Valley’s tech industry, which designates $111,700 as low income. 

For a three-person household — say, two parents with one child — earning a combined six-figure salary is also considered low income in an additional 11 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Monterey, Napa, Orange, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma and Ventura counties.

This wasn’t always the case, as SFGATE points out: Five years ago, $78,550 was considered low income for a single-person household in Santa Clara County, a difference of $33,150, or 42%, compared to now. Indeed no California county in 2020 considered a six-figure salary low income; with $97,600 standing as the low-income ceiling for Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. 

The report comes as both the federal and state government plan to cut or shift funds for social safety net programs; rising insurance costs drive up rents; electric bills in California remain some of the highest in the country; and inflation is “projected to accelerate” under President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Though Gov. Gavin Newsom’s disputes with local governments over homelessness often grab headlines, disagreements between counties and cities also have the potential to upend the livelihoods of unhoused people who depend on local support.

As CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall explains, the saga between the city and county of Los Angeles and their soon-to-be-dissolved joint homeless services authority underscores the friction between local governments, which are sometimes at odds with each other when it comes to funding and responsibility. It’s a kind of clash that’s happening elsewhere in California, such as San Diego and Stanislaus counties.

Established in the 1990s, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority provided services to some of L.A. County’s 75,000 homeless people. After two audits found that the joint agency failed to properly track spending and outcomes, the county’s Board of Supervisors voted last month to rescind more than a third of the agency’s funding, or more than $300 million. L.A. County officials say they plan to create a new agency that is more efficient and will have more accountability measures. 

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and a city councilmember blasted the move, saying it would “create a monumental disruption” and risk “worsening our homelessness crisis.”

Days after county supervisors conducted their vote, members of the L.A. City Council said they should consider pulling out of the agency too.

Cities, which provide shelter beds, do not have behavioral health departments, which are provided by counties, along with other key mental health and addiction treatments. The dismantling of L.A.’s joint agency has left programs in the region figuring out how to separate funds they receive from both the city and county.

Read more here.

More than 290,000 students take free English as a Second Language courses in California’s community colleges. But as the Trump administration cracks down on immigration, educators are reporting a heightened level of anxiety that discourages ESL students from going to class, writes Delilah Brumer of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network.

Non-credit ESL courses have been growing in popularity in recent years: From the 2018-19 academic year to 2023-24, about 30,000 more students in California enrolled in these courses. This is a boon for community colleges, which receive state funding through ESL courses and are still struggling with enrollment after the pandemic.

But in January Trump issued several executive actions to increase deportations, including authorizing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make arrests at schools and other “sensitive locations.” For the roughly 100,000 California college students who do not have permanent legal status, fears about ICE have led some to either attend classes online or not show up at all.

• Jessica Buchsbaum, City College of San Francisco’s ESL department chairperson: “We’ve definitely heard that students may be afraid to come to school. In an environment when there’s so much hate directed at immigrants, we are here to serve this population. These are people who bring incredible energy and hope to our communities.”

Read more here.

Though voters in November rejected amending the state constitution to ban involuntary prison labor, a Culver City lawmaker continues to push for better pay for California prisoners — including incarcerated firefighters who help put out active wildfires. Read more from CalMatters’ Joe Garcia.