Poll shows three in four Californians fear a major U.S. economic downturn
A new poll shows Californians are bracing for tough times ahead.
The Public Policy Institute of California poll, which asked 1,676 adult residents about a range of issues between Nov. 13-19, found that three in four Californians say they expect mostly periods of higher unemployment or economic weakness in the country during the next five years.
“Californians are deeply pessimistic about the economy and their own pocketbooks as we head into a pivotal election year,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC statewide survey director, in a release accompanying the poll results.
“Affordability is a key issue. Overwhelming majorities of likely voters in competitive congressional districts expect economic bad times ahead (73%), are concerned about the price of food and consumer goods (96%), and are less comfortable making household purchases than they were six months ago (67%).”
Trump’s approval rating falls further
When asked about the most pressing issue facing California, residents pointed to the cost of living, the economy and inflation, followed by housing costs and availability. Zooming out to issues facing the United States as a whole, those surveyed pointed to political extremism and threats to democracy as their main concern, with the economy and unemployment as the runner-up.
Just 25% of those surveyed approved of President Donald Trump’s performance so far, down from 30% in February 2025. Even fewer approved of the way Congress has been operating.
Discontent appears tied to some recent national actions: More than 65% of respondents were unhappy with ICE activity, the domestic deployment of the National Guard and the expiration of health insurance tax credits for some ACA plans.
“Californians remain out of sync with federal leaders and their policies,” Baldassare said. “Views of state officials are rosier: majorities of adults (54%) and likely voters (56%) approve of the way Governor Newsom is handling his job, and about half (51% adults, 53% likely voters) approve of the job the state legislature is doing.”
The poll also took the pulse on the wide-open 2026 race for California governor, finding that likely Democratic voters favored former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter over former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, 32% to 22%, while likely Republican voters supported former Fox News host Steve Hilton over Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, 41% to 25%.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM.