According the U.S. Census Bureau, California has over 8.9 million people living in poverty. If those living in poverty in California became their own state, they would rank as the 9th largest state by population. Astoundingly, 42 states have populations less than the number of impoverished Californians. The populations of Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined totals nearly 8.9 million people.
While California’s population soars above the remaining states, our challenges are put into perspective when the unparalleled number of people living below the poverty level in California are compared to national statistics. In fact, California's poverty problem is so pronounced it's virtually impossible to address the national poverty problem without first fixing California's.
See the full infographic here.