California's working age population is shrinking relative to older & younger groups

Number of working age residents (18-64) relative to older (65+) and/or younger (0-17)

SOURCES: US Census Bureau and California Department of Finance population data.
NOTES: Data from 1860-2023 are estimates; data afterward are projections. Top line shows the inverse "dependency ratio", or ratio of working age (18-64) residents to older (65+) and younger (0-17) residents in California. The dotted lines show the number of older adult s or younger people per working age person.
FROM: PPIC Blog, April 2026.
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