Time for Fox News to update their talking points: California’s economy is dominating

The Golden State leads the nation in innovation, growth, and industry - it's time the talking points reflect that.

What you need to know: California's economy continues to defy the tired Fox News narrative. We're leading in innovation, business creation, talent, jobs, wages, manufacturing, and the industries shaping the future. Consider this the updated set of talking points for anyone still repeating an outdated story about the Golden State.

SACRAMENTO - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom is highlighting key updates for Fox News and its right-wing friends to refresh their talking points on California's economic success. Despite the steady drumbeat of right-wing propaganda, the reality is clear: the Golden State has no peers. As the world's fourth-largest economy, California continues to attract entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators from across the country and around the world - leading the nation in new business creation, venture capital, technological innovation, advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, and economic output. In fact, the Golden State continues to be: #1 state for new business starts, #1 state for manufacturing, #1 state for high-tech business, #1 state for agriculture.

Fox News needs to update their talking points, because their tired narrative simply doesn't match reality. California is dominating, attracting talent, capital, businesses, and ideas that are shaping the future. The right wing propaganda can keep recycling the same tired attacks, but they don't get to substitute ideology for reality. California isn't just leading, it's setting the pace for what comes next.

Governor Gavin Newsom

IMPORTANT UPDATES ON CALIFORNIA'S ECONOMIC RECORD:

California's economic story continues to move in one direction: forward. These updates reflect the latest evidence of California's strength across growth, innovation, talent, business creation, jobs, and wages - and provide clarity to the tired right-wing narrative that California is in decline.

UPDATE: California's growth and economic output dominate.

✅ After Governor Newsom took office in January 2019. California's gross domestic product surged 40% to more than $4 trillion, accounting for almost 14% of US output. This outpaced major economies including China (expanded 32%) and Germany (expanded 16%).

✅ California drove 40%+ of the growth in value of the nation's publicly traded equities, despite being12% of the entire U.S. population.

✅ California companies are thriving - "spending $527 billion annually on acquisitions during Newsom's tenure, almost three times the $179 billion spent annually in the 20 years prior to 2019."

✅ California is the single largest contributor to national productivity growth and accounts for roughly 14% of total U.S. economic output, despite representing just 12% of the nation's population.

UPDATE: California is a talent pipeline

✅ "With more than 600 colleges and universities, California today has no peers in higher education, whether in the US or any of the world's developed economies."

✅ California has the highest density in higher education to create a top talent pipeline, with one college or university for every 64,000 citizens, more than the UK and Germany.

✅ California produces more engineers than any other state.

✅ "Investors in California are getting 11% of their return from the University of California, the Los Angeles Unified School District and California State University."

UPDATE: California's industries are fueling the nation

According to Bloomberg, here are the industries contributing to California's economic dominance:

✅ Technology firms based in California lead the nationwide industry with 41 companies producing a 603% total return over the past decade. That's four times the gain of their global peers in the past two, three and five years.

✅ Health care contributed 52% more to California's GDP in 2025 than it did in 2019, despite MAGA attacks on the industry. "California's uninsured rate declined to a record-low 6.4% in 2023, the largest drop in the US, from more than 17% a decade ago, helped by the Covered California and Medi-Cal expanded coverage programs."

✅ Infrastructure and trade keep the U.S. economy moving due to this administration's infrastructure investments. California's Port of Los Angeles is the "US gateway to global trade, handling more than $300 billion of cargo annually."

✅ Clean energy and clean transportation are helping California maintain its future-facing dominance with eight California-based clean-energy companies valued at $100 million or mores seeing the value of their stocks appreciate an average 56% since 2019, compared to 40% for their global peers. "Their 7% average annual gain in revenue crushes the 5% global average. California renewable energy companies will see 17% revenue growth in the coming year, more than doubling the 7% increase of global peers, according to analyst estimates."

✅ Innovation, California attracted more venture capital funding than 49 states COMBINED. Fueled by California's unmatched leadership in technology, artificial intelligence, and innovation, the state secured $366 billion in venture capital funding raised by companies big and small so far in 2026.

UPDATE: California CONTINUES to lead in job creation while raising wages

✅ California wages are rising faster than the national average. Average weekly wages increased 4.6% over the year, reaching $1,954 in the fourth quarter of 2025 - outpacing the 4.2% national increase. California's economic growth is translating into stronger paychecks for workers, not just stronger topline economic numbers.

✅ California is making sure workers share in the state's growth. The statewide minimum wage will rise to $17.40 per hour on January 1, 2027, under a law that adjusts wages annually to keep pace with inflation. While the federal minimum wage has remained unchanged for nearly two decades, California is continuing to raise the floor for working people and protect their purchasing power.

✅ California is the small business capital of the country. The state has more businesses than any other state, including Florida and Texas, and 99.8% are small businesses, more than 4.3 million in total, employing 7.6 million Californians and powering communities across the state.

✅ Through July 2026, California accounted for one in six new jobs in the nation. The Golden State has contributed 16.5 percent of the nation's overall job growth since the beginning of the year. From the first quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, California employers added approximately 131,534 jobs - more than any other state during the same period.