Southern California’s cities, counties and school districts are drowning in debt

California’s state and local governments have over $1 trillion in total debt, amounting to over $27,300 per Californian, according to a new Reason Foundation report. Over half, 46%, of California’s state and local government debt, or $497 billion, is at the state level. The remaining liabilities are distributed among city governments (16% of total debt), county governments (18%), and school districts (20%).

As the nation’s most populous state, it is reasonable that California would have the most total debt. However, even when adjusting for population, California still ranks among the most indebted states. In total, California’s state and local governments rank seventh highest in per capita debt among all 50 states.

This debt did not happen overnight. More than 70% of California’s $1 tril