California ranks 2nd least affordable on this Common Sense Institute metric (50th overall out of 51 incl. DC), right behind Hawaii (51st).
The ranking uses % residual income left after essentials (housing/utilities, groceries, child care, insurances, gas) + taxes for a modeled 4-person household at state median wages. Oregon is 5th least (unchanged since 2019). Full report confirms coastal states dominate the bottom.