Household Costs Outpacing Income Growth
New data from Navicore shows that essential household costs are rising faster than incomes, putting a persistent strain on family budgets. The analysis found that housing and living expenses increased by 6% in 2025, while average income grew by only 3%. This widening gap suggests continued financial pressure on consumers despite moderating headline inflation.
- The cost of living in Santa Ana is 42% higher than the U.S. national average and saw a 3% increase from 2025 to 2026, with primary drivers being soaring housing costs, elevated transportation expenses, and rising food prices. - While nominal wage growth has outpaced inflation nationally since May 2023, real hourly earnings are still down 0.7% since January 2021, indicating that purchasing power has not fully recovered from the recent period of high inflation. - In Santa Ana, the city's Rent Stabilization Ordinance permitted an allowable rent increase of 2.42% effective from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2026. - A 2025 report from Bank of America found that nearly a quarter of all U.S. households were living paycheck to paycheck, with the situation being more acute for lower-income households where the gap between wage growth and expenses has widened. - The Chapman University economic forecast for 2026 projects virtually no job growth for Orange County, indicating a cooling labor market that could further impact household income. - Even homeowners with significant equity are feeling the strain, as the costs of homeownership—including mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and utilities—have risen sharply. - For the broader Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment for April 2024 to April 2025 was 3.0%, which forms the basis for rent increase calculations under state law.
