Joe Rogan Experience #2542 - Steve Hilton · Aired Aug 19, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
The state government of California has doubled in size while the population moving to or living in the state has shrunk.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Both halves overshoot. State government grew, but unevenly: managers up 32% between 2019 and 2024 against just 4% for rank and file staff, which is not doubling. On population, California did lose close to 600,000 people from its 2020 peak, then started growing again and added more than 100,000 in 2024.
Read the supporting source · laborcenter.berkeley.edu ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that the state government of California has doubled in size while the population moving to or living in the state has shrunk?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Both halves overshoot. State government grew, but unevenly: managers up 32% between 2019 and 2024 against just 4% for rank and file staff, which is not doubling. It was said on Joe Rogan Experience #2542 - Steve Hilton, aired Aug 19, 2026, at 33:25. We haven't independently confirmed who said it. The supporting source is laborcenter.berkeley.edu, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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