This is archived content, for historical reference only.

California had the greatest number of uninsured residents of any state — seven million — and the seventh largest percentage of uninsured residents under 65 in the United States. The percentage of Californians who receive coverage through their jobs has declined dramatically, dropping from 63% in 1988 to 54% in 2012. While public insurance has mostly covered this gap, 20% of Californians remain uninsured.

With the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the numbers of uninsured residents in California will be reduced, although a significant number will be left behind.¹

California’s Uninsured: By the Numbers provides a look at California’s uninsured population in 2012 before full implementation of the ACA.

Key findings include:

• While one in five Californians overall is uninsured, the rate among those who work is even higher: one in four.
• Employees in businesses of all sizes are more likely to be uninsured in California than in the United States.
• In businesses with fewer than 10 employees, 40% of workers are likely to have no insurance.
• Nearly one-third of the uninsured in California have annual family incomes of $50,000 or more.
• Sixty-two percent of uninsured children in California are in families where the head of the household worked full-time during 2012.
• Nearly 60% of California’s uninsured population is Latino.

Learn more about which groups will be left without insurance after ACA implementation.

The full report, a quick reference guide, and the Current Population Survey (CPS) data file are available for download below. Also available is an infographic, “Employed but Uninsured: California’s Uninsured by Employment and Family Income,” which is set up for printing on 11″×17″ paper. These materials are part of CHCF’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analyses describing the state’s health care landscape. See our entire collection of current and past editions of California’s Uninsured.

1. In 2015, an estimated 5.6 million Californians will be uninsured. Of this population, 2.6 million are expected to take up coverage, but 3.1 million are expected to stay uninsured.