California September Revenues Beat Forecast by $2.9 Billion: Nine New Startups Reach Billion-Dollar Valuations
The Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in Sacramento on October 20 that California's revenues for September 2026 came in $2.9 billion above forecast, 14.9 percent higher than projected, driven mainly by personal income and corporation tax receipts that both beat expectations. The Governor's Office also announced that nine California startups have recently reached valuations of more than $1 billion, becoming new "unicorn" companies.
By component, September personal income tax receipts came in $1.1 billion, or 8.5 percent, above forecast, while corporation tax receipts came in $1.3 billion, or 49.1 percent, above forecast. On the economy, California's real gross domestic product grew at a 2.5 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, compared with 2.2 percent nationally, and personal income grew 4.5 percent year over year, compared with 4.4 percent nationally. On housing, California permitted 113,300 units at an annualized rate through August, up 15.5 percent from the same period in 2025, with multifamily permits up 37.3 percent.
"The world's best talent comes to California to take risks, raise capital, build companies, and create whole industries that didn't exist a few years ago," Governor Newsom said in the statement. "As our economy continues to grow and our revenues show everyone what's possible, we will keep betting on the future being built right here."
The nine newest unicorn companies are headquartered in San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale and Irvine, and specialize in super intelligence, semiconductors, robotics and healthcare. The Governor's Office said California accounted for 43 percent of new U.S. unicorns and nearly a quarter of new unicorns worldwide in September, creating more unicorns that month than any country outside the United States. On jobs, California added 129,300 of the nation's 496,000 net payroll jobs from September 2025 through September 2026, about 26 percent; unemployment fell by 106,500 people over ten consecutive months through September, and the unemployment rate held at 5.1 percent, its lowest level since February 2024.
The Governor's Office also said California companies had attracted $366 billion in venture capital in 2026 as of August, more than three times the total raised in all 49 other states combined, and that the Governor's final bill of his tenure seeks to put a $7.5 billion research bond before voters to invest in science, technology and universities.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Sacramento 的加州议会大厦正面（资料图）。维基共享资源，CC BY 2.0，作者 Henri Sivonen／Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento (file photo). Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, by Henri Sivonen
