United Ways of California released The Real Cost Measure in California 2025, a tally of basic needs that goes beyond the federal poverty line to reflect the actual cost of living, including food, housing, transportation, childcare, out-of-pocket health expenses and taxes. In Orange County, more than 1 in 3 households (34%) fall below the Real Cost Measure.
“The Real Cost Measure provides critically important data about how many families in Orange County struggle to make ends meet and pay for basic necessities,” said Andrew Fahmy, Executive Director of Orange County United Way’s United for Financial Security initiative. “We will be doing a deep dive into this new data to better support Orange County families on their path to financial stability.”
Unlike the official poverty measure, which primarily accounts for the cost of food, the Real Cost Measure factors the costs of housing, food, health care, childcare, transportation and other basic needs to reveal what it really costs to live in California…