Significant rankings

The Taxpayers Network is a collection of watchdog groups whose purpose is to provide statistical data and information about a wide range of issues. It annually publishes a booklet titled 50 State Comparisons that assesses a variety of data about the states and ranks them accordingly. Below are some of the categories and California’s data and rankings, along with the U.S. averages in the same categories. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts are 2004 figures adjusted for inflation. As will be immediately obvious, we pay a lot more on average for housing but earn less than residents of many states.

Category, California, U.S. average, CA Rank

Median monthly owner-occupied housing cost, $1,733, $1,212,

Median monthly rental cost, $914, $694, 1

Median housing value, $391,102, $151,366, 1

Median family income, $58,327, $53,692, 14

Per-capita personal income, $35,172, $33,041, 12

% of population below poverty level, 13.3, 13.1, 20

State and local tax burden as % of income, 10.3, 10.1, 21

Maximum corporate income tax rate, 8.84%, 6.93%, 12

State and local gov’t employees per 10,000 residents, 496, 538, 46

Federal pork per capita (2005), $6.62, $33.03, 50