Not surprised (sad to see it’s this high though). The poverty level is calculated from the cost of living, so CA is at a huge disadvantage. Also the weather doesn’t force homeless people out of the state, so people in extreme poverty can stay put- compare that to Montana, where homeless and people without utilities can die during the winter and that pushes many out of the state.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only
I wasn't surprised either, but was curious where exactly people in poverty reside here. Turns out the expensive coastal counties have the highest rates (LA > Santa Barbara > Santa Cruz > OC) [1]. So it looks like you're right that the primary driver is increasing cost of living and low mobility.
