Have Californians Kept Up in the 1990s?

Although the California economy has been outperforming the U.S., statistics on family income suggest that Californians are losing ground.

1 minute read

August 26, 2000, 2:30 PM PDT

By California 2000


Using data on U.S. income between 1989 to 1998, economic analysts foundthat the middle-income California family lost ground economically duringthe 1990s while those families in other states progressed. Daly andother analysts largely blame the diminished economic standing ofCalifornia's mid- and lower-income families on the state's devastatingrecession in the early 1990s and the late arrival of the nationaleconomic boom in the state. In addition, a long-term cause of economicinequality is California's comparatively large pool of young and poorlyeducated workers, many of them immigrants. The study determined thatmedian family income actually fell 4% in California from 1989 to 1998,while in the other 49 states it climbed 8%.

Thanks to California 2000 Project

Friday, August 25, 2000 in Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

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