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GN
California•In office since 2019•Party: D
Gavin Newsom
Serving as Governor of California since 2019. Evaluation based on verified public data.
Overall GradeC
49.2 / 100
Ranked #35 of 50 nationally
Category
Economy
69.5 / 100B+
Unemployment RateF
5.3%
National avg 3.9%
Rank 49 of 503 pct
Trend since took officefrom 4.3%
Median Household IncomeA+
$91,905
National avg $74,580
Rank 5 of 5092 pct
Trend since took officefrom $75,235
Job GrowthA
5.8%
National avg 5.5%
Rank 14 of 5073 pct
Trend since took officefrom 2.0%
Real GDP GrowthA-
7.0%
National avg 8.0%
Rank 20 of 5061 pct
Trend since took officefrom 3.0%
Real Wage GrowthA+
3.5%
National avg 3.0%
Rank 9 of 5085 pct
Trend since took officefrom 1.0%
Category
Fiscal Health
41.4 / 100D+
State Debt per CapitaC-
$3,600
National avg $3,580
Rank 36 of 5029 pct
Trend since took officefrom $3,850
Rainy Day FundB+
18.0%
National avg 14.0%
Rank 14 of 5073 pct
Trend since took officefrom 16.0%
State & Local Tax BurdenF
13.5%
National avg 11.2%
Rank 46 of 508 pct
Trend since took officefrom 13.7%
Credit RatingF
78
National avg 90
Rank 48 of 505 pct
Trend since took officefrom 78
Category
Quality of Life
49.9 / 100C
Poverty RateC+
12.0%
National avg 11.5%
Rank 28 of 5046 pct
Trend since took officefrom 12.8%
High School Graduation RateC
86.7%
National avg 87.0%
Rank 28 of 5046 pct
Trend since took officefrom 85.0%
Life ExpectancyB+
79.0 yrs
National avg 77.5 yrs
Rank 8 of 5087 pct
Trend since took officefrom 79.8 yrs
Violent Crime RateF
499 / 100k
National avg 380 / 100k
Rank 44 of 5012 pct
Trend since took officefrom 442 / 100k
Bridges in Poor ConditionB-
5.2%
National avg 6.6%
Rank 23 of 5056 pct
Trend since took officefrom 5.6%
How this grade is built
Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.
Full methodology →