Looks like the sources of your problems seem to converge in Sacramento. No government can tax its people into prosperity. Do you know what the numbers look like if you throw out the stats from counties in and around SF and LA? Seems to me SF and parts of LA would really skew costs of living. Even more so than the most expensive areas in Texas in relation to anywhere else in the State.

>Since January 2001 192,000 IT jobs and 283,200 manufacturing jobs have been lost in this state. The manufacturing figure represents a 16% loss in our industrial workforce. What follows concerns the manufacturing sector.
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>A recent Milken Institute study defined the following costs of manufacturing in California:
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>1. Basic cost is 32% above the national average.
>2. Electricity costs 94 % more.
>3. Taxes are 34% higher.
>4. Wages are 16% higher.