Are California pay raises keeping up with inflation? It's complicated

Inflation rates and wage gains vary geographically across California. San Diego saw 28% pay hikes vs 19% inflation while Sacramento had 20% raises and unknown inflation.

Job category matters. Personal services saw 27% pay hikes, manufacturing 26%, while natural resources was only 17%.

Timing is key. 2020-2021 had 20% pay hikes vs 5% inflation, but 2022-2023 had 4% raises and 13% inflation.

Age and loyalty impact raises. Younger workers (16-24) saw 44% hikes while loyal employees got just 16%.

Bottom line is it depends - young mobile personal service workers likely beat inflation while older, loyal construction workers may have not.