California Latino voters and the affordability crisis: basic needs
Research brief uses survey data from registered California voters to examine how Latino registered voters experience financial pressures.
Research co-authored by Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, found that affordability remains a major concern for California voters heading into the midterm elections this November.
In the report, published this week by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI), where Bustamante, who also serves as faculty research director, the authors found that in a recent survey of California adult residents, almost half (44%) identify the cost of living, the economy, and inflation as the most important state issues going into the 2026 elections.
Roughly 6.7 million Californians are struggling to afford basic needs, including housing, energy, food, and healthcare, amid persistently high costs, the researchers - including Rosario Majano, a UCLA Fielding alum (MS, ’20) and analyst at LPPI - wrote.
These affordability pressures can force households to make difficult choices about how to cover everyday expenses, including cutting back on basic needs, drawing on savings, taking on debt, or working additional hours. Beyond these immediate financial pressures, many households also worry about their ability to keep up with expenses in the months ahead.
Against this backdrop, the analysts drew on survey data from registered California voters to examine how Latino registered voters are experiencing financial pressures and how their experiences compare with those of non-Latinos. The analysis considers respondents’ current financial circumstances, actions their households have taken in response to financial pressures, and concerns about their future finances. It also examines how respondents who report receiving Medi-Cal and CalFresh anticipate reacting to potential funding cuts in public programs.
Data and Approach
This analysis draws on polling data from registered California voters collected in May 2026 by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley. The survey included 8,578 registered voters, of whom 2,115 were Latino (25%), and 6,463 were non-Latino (75%). Because the survey includes only registered voters, findings are representative of California’s registered voter population rather than all California residents.
The analysis compares the experiences of Latino and non-Latino respondents, both overall and by household income. To ensure the findings are representative of the California registered voter population, survey weights are applied to all estimates, and Rao-Scott chi-square tests are used to determine whether differences between groups are statistically significant. This test accounts for survey weights and the survey’s complex sampling design. Sample sizes vary across questions because of item nonresponse and survey skip patterns. The survey questions examined in this analysis are provided in the appendix.
