{"id":5774,"date":"2026-07-29T16:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:10:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:10:02","slug":"californians-oddly-confident-despite-war-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5774","title":{"rendered":"Californians oddly confident despite war, inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

California optimism continues to rise, while pessimism brews nationally.<\/p>\n

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the Conference Board\u2019s consumer confidence indexes to see how the three months through July compared with the previous year and optimism swings since 2007. It found California confidence was up 5% over the past year and only 3% below average.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Jeopardy!\u2019 winner admits to being \u2018peeping Tom\u2019 with bathroom camera: report<\/a><\/p>\n

That buoyancy might raise some eyebrows, given that the world is on edge, with a war in Iran rattling the economy and rekindling inflation. And let\u2019s not forget the political guessing game: Come 2027, who will run Congress and who will be California\u2019s next governor?<\/p>\n

So, what exactly goes into this confidence index recipe?<\/p>\n

First up is California\u2019s present situation index, which takes the temperature of how things feel right now. It\u2019s slipped 2% over the past year. In other words, the economy is giving off a \u201cmeh\u201d vibe.<\/p>\n

But since this index is still 8% above its 20-year average, California shoppers can see the business climate is holding up better than it may feel.<\/p>\n

The other slice of the confidence index shows Californians are curiously upbeat about the future.<\/p>\n

The expectations index \u2013 gauging thoughts on what\u2019s ahead \u2013 is decidedly bullish: Up 13% in a year. But that\u2019s off serious lows, as the measure remains 12% below its 20-year average.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Look, wars always push up skittishness, and high gasoline prices hurt the wallet \u2013 if not the economic psyche.<\/p>\n

But Golden State confidence may be tied to California\u2019s bosses, who were adding jobs slowly but far faster than the rest of the nation in early 2026.<\/p>\n

Look, we\u2019re talking about the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy, according to one count, where business output was booming as a flood of venture capital revitalized the state\u2019s tech industry.<\/p>\n

Read more Fauci invokes the Fifth Amendment and declines to testify in GOP-led Senate panel\u2019s COVID-19 hearing<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet given the big gap between President Donald Trump\u2019s focus on homegrown economics and California\u2019s eyes on the world, these good economic vibes from the Golden State are a real surprise.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Nationally speaking<\/h4>\n

Across the country, American consumers seem jittery.<\/p>\n

The U.S. consumer confidence index is down 6% over the past year to a level 1% below the average grade since 2007.<\/p>\n

Clearly, Americans are unhappy with current conditions. The nationwide present situation index is off 12% in a year. However, it sits 11% above its 20-year average.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t expect a quick turnaround. The U.S. expectation index has barely budged, up just 1% over the past year, and it\u2019s still 11% below average.<\/p>\n

Others\u2019 optimism<\/h4>\n

None of the other seven states the Conference Board tracks saw a mid-2026 optimism boost like California\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how those states stack up on confidence swings, both recent and compared with their usual mood, ranked by one-year change through July:<\/p>\n

\u2013 New York: Up 1% in a year and 21% above average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Illinois: Flat in a year and 16% above average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Pennsylvania: Flat in a year and 7% above average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Texas: Off 4% in a year and 6% below average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Florida: Off 8% in a year but 4% above average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Michigan: Off 8% in a year but 19% above average.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Ohio: Off 16% in a year and 7% below average.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Retro gamers and Apple geeks: It\u2019s time for the Vintage Computer Festival<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California confidence is up 5% over the past year and is only 3% below average.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornians oddly confident despite war, inflation - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5774\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Californians oddly confident despite war, inflation - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"California confidence is up 5% over the past year and is only 3% below average.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5774\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T16:10:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Californians oddly confident despite war, inflation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T16:10:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/c5d8c77c7a019395829060d2c6352735.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5774\",\"name\":\"Californians oddly confident despite war, inflation - 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