Market data
Consumer protection in California: market data
What public records say about the market for consumer protection in California: how much demand the courts and agencies count, how many law offices serve it, how many people need help in Spanish, and the ad rules that apply. Every number links to the record it comes from.
Demand: what courts and agencies count
Counts of filings, crashes, complaints and enforcement in the records each agency keeps. A count shows where problems were recorded, not how many people will hire a lawyer.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFPB credit reporting complaints | 574,174 complaints, 12 months | 12 months from 2025-10-01 | California state | consumer-complaints v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733731 record cfpb-ca-credit-reporting · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| CFPB debt collection complaints | 27,896 complaints, 12 months | 12 months from 2025-10-01 | California state | consumer-complaints v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733731 record cfpb-ca-debt-collection · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| CFPB debt or credit management complaints | 478 complaints, 12 months | 12 months from 2025-10-01 | California state | consumer-complaints v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733731 record cfpb-ca-debt-management · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| FTC fraud and other reports | 506,727 reports, calendar year | 2024 | California state | consumer-sentinel v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741876 record sentinel-ca-fraud-other · status P · checked 2026-10-27 · linked by the markets layer |
| FTC identity theft reports | 139,665 reports, calendar year | 2024 | California state | consumer-sentinel v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741876 record sentinel-ca-identity-theft · status P · checked 2026-10-27 · linked by the markets layer |
| FTC imposter scam reports | 71,103 reports, calendar year | 2024 | California state | consumer-sentinel v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741876 record sentinel-ca-imposter-scams · status P · checked 2026-10-27 · linked by the markets layer |
| FCC unwanted call complaints | 11,183 complaints, 12 months | 12 months from 2025-10-01 | California state | robocall-complaints v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733010 record robocalls-ca-call · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| FCC unwanted text complaints | 1,716 complaints, 12 months | 12 months from 2025-10-01 | California state | robocall-complaints v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733010 record robocalls-ca-text · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: consumer credit and phone-call suits | 2,726 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Central District of California federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-cac-consumer · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: consumer credit and phone-call suits | 467 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Eastern District of California federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-cae-consumer · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: consumer credit and phone-call suits | 578 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Northern District of California federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-can-consumer · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: consumer credit and phone-call suits | 567 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Southern District of California federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-cas-consumer · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
Rising or falling
The change between the last two periods each source publishes. No threshold and no smoothing.
| Measure | Before | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFPB credit reporting complaints California · record cfpb-ca-credit-reporting | 390,215 prior 12 months | 574,174 12 months from 2025-10-01 | rising (+47.1%) |
| CFPB debt collection complaints California · record cfpb-ca-debt-collection | 19,287 prior 12 months | 27,896 12 months from 2025-10-01 | rising (+44.6%) |
| CFPB debt or credit management complaints California · record cfpb-ca-debt-management | 359 prior 12 months | 478 12 months from 2025-10-01 | rising (+33.1%) |
| FCC unwanted call complaints California · record robocalls-ca-call | 12,491 prior 12 months | 11,183 12 months from 2025-10-01 | falling (-10.5%) |
| FCC unwanted text complaints California · record robocalls-ca-text | 2,316 prior 12 months | 1,716 12 months from 2025-10-01 | falling (-25.9%) |
Lawyer supply
How many law offices and lawyers the federal statistics count here.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New lawyers admitted | 7,101 lawyers a year | 2025 | California state | bar-pipeline v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443 record ca-bar-pipeline · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties under 1 law office per 10,000 residents | 4 counties | 2026-Q1 | California state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties with no law office | 3 counties | 2026-Q1 | California state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Residents living in those low-office counties | 0.5 percent of residents | 2026-Q1 | California state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Employer law firms | 21,612 firms | 2022 | California state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-ca-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Receipts of employer law firms | 55,695,078,000 US dollars | 2022 | California state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-ca-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Law offices per 10,000 residents | 6.3 per 10,000 residents | 2026-Q1 | California state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Self-employed lawyers (nonemployer firms) | 40,308 firms | latest Nonemployer Statistics year | California state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Private law offices | 24,803 establishments | 2026-Q1 | California state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-06 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Lawyers employed (wage-earning, BLS OEWS) | 95,770 jobs | May 2025 | California state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:CA:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Median annual wage of employed lawyers | 195,080 US dollars a year | May 2025 | California state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:CA:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Spanish-language demand
People who speak Spanish and speak English less than very well, and the lawyers who speak Spanish, from the Census Bureau survey (with margins of error).
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers who speak Spanish at home (ACS) | 11,996 ±1,027 lawyers | 2020-2024 | California state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:CA:lawyers-spanish · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English per Spanish-speaking lawyer | 342 ±29.4 people per lawyer | 2020-2024 | California state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:CA:lep-per-spanish-lawyer · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English (ACS) | 4,107,223 ±27,003 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | California state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:CA:spanish-lep · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English | 4,107,223 ±24,348 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | California state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-ca · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Ad rules that apply
The rules a law firm's ads in California have to meet, summarized from the official texts. The full rules, with quotes, are on the state page.
| Topic | Status | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | No filing or pre-approval of ads is required. The person who pays for an ad keeps a true and correct copy for one year (B&P 6159.1). official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Required content | P primary source | An ad must conspicuously show the name of at least one California-licensed lawyer, the law firm, the certified lawyer referral service or the joint advertiser responsible for it, and the city, town or county of at least one bona fide office or the address of… official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Waiting periods for contact | P primary source | The rules and the State Bar Act set no waiting period. In-person, live-telephone and real-time electronic solicitation is barred where pecuniary gain is a significant motive, unless the person is a lawyer or has a family, close personal or prior professional… official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Claims and results | P primary source | An ad may not contain a guarantee or warranty of success, a claim of immediate cash or quick settlement, an impersonation, an undisclosed dramatization, a spokesperson without a disclosed title, misleading statements about skills, experience or record, or an… official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | A lawyer may not compensate, promise or give anything of value to a person to recommend or secure the lawyer's services, except to pay reasonable ad costs, the usual charges of a legal services plan or a qualified lawyer referral service (one run under the… official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Call recording | P primary source | Recording a confidential communication without the consent of all parties to it is an offense (Penal Code § 632). official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Texting | P primary source | Automatic dialing-announcing devices may place calls only under a prior agreement in which the called person consents to receive such calls (Public Utilities Code § 2873). official source · rules v1.3.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744574 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | California: no filing or review of lawyer ads is required. official source · filing v1.2.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721409 · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | Lawyers in different firms may split a fee if they sign a written agreement to divide it, the client consents in writing after full written disclosure, and the division does not raise the total fee; there is no proportion or joint-responsibility test. official source · referral v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23747113 · checked 2026-10-27 |
Prices and pay (national)
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs in legal services (seasonally adjusted) | 1,249 thousand jobs | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CES6054110001:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| CPI-U: legal services | 230 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CUUR0000SEGC01:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| PPI: offices of lawyers | 338 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:PCU541110541110:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
What is missing
Datasets linked to this practice that have no figure here, and values the source withholds. We never fill these in.
- civil-filings (demand): no record for California at this geography; the state or another geography may have one
Download and cite
The rows behind this page, with every dataset, version, DOI, record id and check date.
Cite as: Probative Growth, The new-lawyer pipeline by jurisdiction: bar exam pass rates and new admissions, 2025 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443); CFPB complaints about debt collection, credit reporting and debt management, by state and month v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733731); FTC Consumer Sentinel reports by state: fraud, identity theft and imposter scams, 2024 Data Book v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741876); Legal deserts: law offices and lawyers per resident in every U.S. county v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430); How long federal civil cases take: outcomes, class actions and pro se share by district, nature of suit and year v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969); Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro v1.1.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758); Law firm size, solos and receipts, by state: Census SUSB 2022, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and Economic Census 2022 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997); Law offices, jobs and pay by county, with solo-practice counts: BLS QCEW, Census CBP and Nonemployer Statistics v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415); Lawyer, paralegal and legal-staff pay by state and metro (BLS OEWS) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840); Legal need by county: who may need a lawyer, from the American Community Survey v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886); Legal-services prices and jobs, monthly (BLS CPI, PPI and CES) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854); Unwanted-call and text-message complaints to the FCC, by state and month v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733010); CC BY 4.0. https://probativegrowth.com/markets/california/consumer-protection/
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How this page is built
Each figure is copied from one record of the dataset named with it, joined to this state and practice through the open practice and place crosswalk. Nothing is estimated. Methods, inputs and limits.