Young Californians’ political engagement motivated by high cost of living
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CALIFORNIANS VS COST OF LIVING
An overwhelming majority of young Californians feel the cost of living quickly outpacing their wages, an issue that is primarily driving them to the polls.
The 2025 poll conducted by Latino Decisions revealed young Californians want politicians to address their economic concerns. Gen Z and young Millennials are projected to be the largest voting bloc by 2028.
“What is motivating young voters isn’t partisan fear mongering,” Executive Vice President of Power California Saa’un Bell said. “It’s the rent, it’s the wages and the daily fight to survive.”
The team at Latino Decisions surveyed 1,900 young Californians, between the ages of 18 and 30, 100 days into the Trump administration. They found that economic concerns usurped social justice issues as the top concern among young people. More specifically, cost of living, housing and job opportunities are top of mind for young Californians.
“We’re tired of surviving,” Daisy Maxion, organizing director at Filipino Advocates for Justice, said. “We can’t be in a position of just surviving all of the time. We have to be intentional and involved as a collective to start.”
Maxion said despite her firsthand witnessing of the widening economic gaps in her Bay Area hometown of Hayward, she still sees hope for her communities. She likens the current political landscape to the meme from the movie Holes, “I’m tired of this, grandpa!”
“No one is gonna save us but ourselves,” she said. “It’s coming to that decision and realization that we have to get going. We have to do things ourselves.”
1 in 3 Californians considered leaving the state or taking on two jobs at once, according to the survey. This is exacerbated by the fact that many young people are economically constrained as caregivers — 1 in 4 people surveyed said they support family and friends in addition to themselves.
Also broken down by gender lines, young men and women are responding differently to economic uncertainty and the early Trump administration, according to the report.
Women are more likely to oppose the policies of the Trump administration while men were more likely to vote for Trump than Kamala Harris in 2024. Black men increasingly registered as Republican voters, data from the report showed.
However, Senior Analyst for Latino Decisions Andrew Proctor said it’s not that clear cut.
“It’s not about siding with the right,” said Hazbelt Benito, who works with Inner City Struggle. “It’s about grasping at any possible route of success, even if it comes with strings attached.”
Benito explained for many young Latino men, the expectation is to be “pillars of their families.” The 19-year-old said his parents were part of movements in their homeland, motivating him to be engaged and involved with his community in LA.
“Next year, during the midterms, I’ll be paying close attention to what candidates say and what they’ve done,” he said. “I encourage everyone to do the same. An informed vote is the best kind of vote.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Americans who work for a living deserve more. We need sensible guardrails to ensure jobs aren’t decimated, guarantees of meaningful human oversight of the technology, and the exploration of a national four-day work week at full-time pay.”
— Lorena Gonzalez, AFL-CIO President on the Trump administration’s release of the AI Action Plan
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This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Young Californians’ political engagement motivated by high cost of living."
