The California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (Self-Sufficiency Standard), quantifies the costs of basic needs for California’s working families. Many policymakers, advocates, services providers, foundations, and families use the Self-Sufficiency Standard to make informed decisions on working family issues. It measures the minimum income necessary to cover all of a non-elderly (under 65 years old) and non-disabled individual or family’s basic expenses - housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, and taxes - without public or private assistance. The California Self-Sufficiency Standard is available for all 58 counties across the state. This tool allows you to look up the Self-Sufficiency Standard for a specific county and household type in California.
How much is enough to make ends meet in your county?
- To see the Self-Sufficiency Standard for your county and which families are struggling to make ends meet, use the most up-to-date Self-Sufficiency Standard Look Up Tool here.
- To view the methodology for the Self-Sufficiency Standard for California, click here.
- To learn how the Family Self Sufficiency Standard tool is used, click here.
- To download the full data tables for the 2014 Self-Sufficiency Standard for California (e.g. minimum income levels by county and family type) click here (Excel, 1.8MB)
- To download the full data tables for the 2012 Self-Sufficiency Standard for California demographic analysis (e.g. number and percent of households with incomes below the Self-Sufficiency Standard) click here (Excel, 770KB)
