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A snapshot of California, 2025

The California Doughnut

California's economy is more than its GDP. The Doughnut reveals what traditional economic metrics miss.

Published in November 2025, the California Doughnut is the first state-level adaptation of Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics framework. CalDEC built it over two years of research with academic, government, and community partners, examining 42 indicators across 21 dimensions of social wellbeing and ecological health. Its purpose: to give California a compass for an economy that meets everyone's needs within the limits of the planet.

The Doughnut.

Click any wedge to see where California stands on that dimension.

Climate change Air pollution Land-use change Biodiversity loss Freshwater use Nitrogen & phosph… Chemical pollution Ocean acidificati… Ozone depletion Food Health Housing Income & work Peace & justi… Political voi… Social cohesi… Water & sanit… Connectivity … Education Energy Equity ECOLOGICAL CEILING THE SAFE AND JUST SPACE FOR CALIFORNIA SOCIAL FOUNDATION

Click a wedge to explore.

Each wedge is one of California's 21 dimensions. Tap any to see the headline stat, framing from the report, the policy spotlight, and the justice lens.

Where California stands.

Every category, sorted by severity. Switch to cards for the headline stats and the report's framing.

How CalDEC built this.

CalDEC built the California Doughnut over two years of research, in collaboration with academic, government, and community partners across the state. The team considered more than 200 candidate indicators and selected 42 representative ones across 21 categories: 24 social indicators measuring whether Californians have what they need, and 18 ecological indicators measuring whether our economic activity is staying within Earth's limits.

Around half of the indicators draw from government sources, with the rest from NGO reports and peer-reviewed academic work.

Regional doughnuts.

The framework scales. Several California cities are building their own.

Working on a Doughnut for your city? Get in touch →

Get involved.

Changing the dominant economic paradigm will take a community. There is a place for everyone to contribute meaningfully.

Tell us how you'd like to help

Upcoming event

FEATURED EVENT

Local Series: Doughnut Economics on the Local Level

May 7, 2026 · 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM PDT

How can cities meet everyone's needs while staying within the planet's ecological limits? A conversation on how the Doughnut Economics framework is beginning to take shape in three Bay Area cities. Hear directly from three CalDEC leaders working to bring this approach into practice.

Hosted by Kirsten Maynard

Speakers

  • Lisa Charpontier, San José lead
  • Kyle Ciullo, San Francisco lead
  • Amelia Eichel, Santa Cruz and Watsonville lead

See all events →