California has the highest poverty rate in the country, tied with Louisiana.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support1 context
- Said
- 2 times·
- Confidence
- 55%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
The claim's ranking depends on the poverty measure. Under the official measure, Louisiana (18.1% in 2025) is the highest state and California (about 10.7%, the national rate) is not near the top.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… We'll let you do, we'll let you have it all your own way for 16 years, nothing stopping you from showing you, showing us that your ideas work and that your people can get things done, and look at the results: it's the highest poverty rate, poverty rate in the country, tied with Louisiana; the highest unemployment rate; the highest cost of living by far. Everyone knows that: gas prices, housing costs, insurance, everything you look at, groceries, the most expensive in America. …
The Dan Bongino Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The Census Bureau's 2025 official poverty data ranks Louisiana highest (18.1%), with Mississippi next (18.0%), and California is not at the top.[1][2]
Contradicts. On the SPM, Census shows Louisiana (19.0%) ahead of California (17.8%), so California is second rather than tied for highest.[1][3][4]
Supports. CalMatters reports California was tied with Louisiana on the SPM the last time supplemental rates were issued (17.7%), which is the most recent data available at the post date.[5]
Context. The Census rankings are 3-year averages in some releases and single-year estimates in others, so the ordering shifts with the measure and time window used.[1][2][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 primary, 4 not rated
- 1States With Highest Poverty Rates Clustered in the Southcensus.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2025 - census.govwww2.census.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3Why California’s poverty rate is second only to Louisianalaist.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4Poverty in California Remains Steady, Among the Highest in the Nationcalbudgetcenter.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Opinion | California's high living costs put its poverty rate near the topcalmatters.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6The overlooked geography of American poverty - Axiosaxios.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 2 published posts
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestMixed
- False
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