Los Angeles Times

Renters dominate California — but they are struggling to survive

Evelyn Arceo works as a baker at Universal Studios and said that she bakes the cakes for the company parties celebrating their profits but she lives in a crowded apartment with her four children, on June 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. Her three oldest children share this room. Her youngest will usually sleep with her in the living room.

Evelyn Arceo holds down a full-time job as a baker at Universal Studios Hollywood, earning $19 an hour. But even when she gets a few hours of overtime at the theme park, the single mother of four can barely afford the rent of her one-bedroom apartment in Panorama City.

On her salary, buying a home is out of the question.

Already, her monthly rent of $1,300 is "just too expensive at this point," Arceo said, with late fees of $40 to $50 compounding her financial plight. "I don't think I've ever been on time on

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