How We Work
Every number on this site links to its primary source. Here's how we got them.
“Total state budget” reflects all-funds totals from the Governor's enacted budget, not just the General Fund. Category percentages are computed from the agency-level summary published by the Department of Finance on Open FI$Cal. Per-capita figures use Department of Finance population estimates.
Per-inmate cost is from the LAO's annual incarceration cost report. Per-student cost uses the CDE's Current Expense of Education per ADA. These are not directly comparable — inmate cost includes housing, healthcare, and security — but the ratio is directionally accurate and widely cited by the LAO itself.
Billionaire net worth figures are from Forbes Real-Time Billionaires. Departure status is compiled from the SF Standard tracker, public LLC filings, and news reports. “Departed wealth” sums net worth of individuals confirmed leaving or with documented relocation activity. Employee headcounts are from company SEC filings (10-K) and earnings reports.
Campaign finance data is from Ballotpedia and the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access filings. Only disclosed numeric amounts are included. Some opposition donors filed without dollar amounts; these are noted but excluded from totals.
Federal grant savings are from the DOGE API (v0.0.2-beta), filtered to California-related agencies and recipients. We match on state name, CA city names, UC/CSU campuses, and national labs (e.g. Lawrence Livermore, JPL). The snapshot captured 542 grants totaling $3.4B in reported savings. Because the API is in beta and DOGE's methodology is not publicly documented, these figures reflect what the federal government reports as savings — not an independent audit.
Uses the 2025 CA income tax brackets (single filer, no deductions modeled) plus the 1% Mental Health Services Act surcharge on income above $1M. Budget allocation percentages are simplified from the all-funds totals and may not precisely match sub-category breakdowns.
If we get something wrong, we fix it publicly. Corrections are timestamped and documented. Every number on this site links to its primary citation. If you find an error, contact us — we will update the same day.