The typical household in California has far more wealth than in the rest of the nation, but the state faces a staggering wealth gap — those near the top claim a net worth 100 times that of those at the bottom.

The median net worth of California households is $288,000, compared to just $180,000 nationwide, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California analyzing residents’ assets and debts and the increasing efforts to help them build wealth.

Californians have more wealth largely due to the state’s abundance of well-paying jobs and the high value of residents’ homes, which are often their largest assets. Other key assets include savings and investment accounts, vehicle equity and retirement funds.

But at the same time, the state’s strong economy has fueled a growing wealth disparity, a trend also reflected nationwide.

Households in the 80th percentile of the state’s wealth distribution have a median net worth of $1.4 million, while those in the 20th percentile have just $12,000.

“In California, economic inequality is really characterized by families with little having very little,” said report co-author Tess Thorman, a research associate at the institute who studies poverty, inequality and safety nets.

Thorman said the growing wealth gap is the result of sweeping shifts in technology, international trade and the structure of the state’s economy, which have raised the cost of living dramatically over the past four decades.

When families struggle to build assets and savings, it becomes harder to endure a traumatic life event, such as an expensive medical emergency. It’s also more challenging to earn a college degree, start a business or make a down payment on a home.

“Wealth is the fundamental part of economic security and economic mobility for all families,” Thorman said.

The report found that four in 10 California households lack enough savings to cover their basic necessities in the event of a three-month loss of income. Meanwhile, about 14% of children in the state live below the poverty line, according to a 2023 report by the PPIC.

Black and Latino households in the state have disproportionately less wealth, owing in large part to longstanding patterns of discrimination and underinvestment related to housing, banking, employment and other systemic factors.

The wealth gap is especially stark for Latino households, which have a median net worth of $62,000, nine times less than that of White and Asian households, which each have a net worth of around $530,000. The median wealth of Black households is $180,000.

When it comes to debt, the report, which analyzed U.S. Census data, found that three in four California households have some form of debt, including home mortgages and car loans. About half owe money on unsecured debts, which include credit cards, medical bills and student loans.

One in six households has student loan debt, the largest type of unsecured debt. Among those with a four-year degree, the median student loan debt is $35,000.

Among those with any type of debt, the median amount is $103,000.

The report, released last month, also found that homeownership is less common in California than in the rest of the country, reflecting the state’s high housing costs. Only about half of California households own their home, compared with 63% nationwide.

For those who can afford to buy, the median home equity in California is $485,000, almost three times that of the rest of the country.

Alyxx Melendez, a 26-year-old special education teacher, recently moved into a five-bedroom house in San Leandro with six other roommates. The home is crowded, but the rent is cheap, allowing Melendez to save around $500 a month.

But that’s hardly enough to persuade Melendez, who grew up in Southern California, to settle down in the Bay Area, where the median home price now tops $1.4 million.

“It’s a fricking lot,” Melendez said. “I don’t ever expect to buy a home in the Bay Area.”

In the report, Thorman pointed to various state and local programs to help residents build wealth. They include downpayment and mortgage assistance for first-time home buyers, money for low-income families to open savings accounts for their children and loans to give small businesses access to credit.

Many of those programs, however, are relatively new and lack the funding to meet the immense demand statewide. In 2023, for instance, a $300 million state downpayment assistance program ran out of money in a matter of days.

Thorman hopes the report can help illuminate the scope of the need across the state.

“We want to be able to put some numbers to that and let people know what they’re experiencing is being shared broadly,” Thorman said.