Health Care Costs Add to Higher Cost of Living in California

The California Budget Project http://www.cbp.org/ estimates what it costs to support a family with two children or to live as a single adult - allowing only for the basic costs of housing, utilities, child care, transportation, food, health coverage, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses - in 10 regions of the state. According to The Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California? in order to have a "modest" standard of living and cover the basics of everyday costs, including health care, California residents need to earn far more than the state's minimum wage or federal poverty level.

The report is available online at http://www.cbp.org/2005/0509_mem.pdf