In Southern California, second-quarter 2026 pay raises did not go very far against everyday expenses.
Although wages moved higher, inflation rose faster, reducing what many households could actually afford, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
What happened?
Across the five-county Southern California region — Los Angeles and Orange, along with Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura — private-sector wages increased at a 2.8% annual rate in the second quarter of 2026.
That was the area’s smallest gain in nine years…