What's low income where you live?

[Chicago Sandy]

The average household income for the Chicago/Joliet metro area (including "collar-counties”) is $69K; for Chicago it’s $47K; my greater neighborhood of Edgewater, $48K but my 16-sq. block sub-neighborhood is $75K, with Lincoln Park and Streeterville averaging $89K. Only 18% of families in greater Edgewater pull in >$100K. The poorest neighborhoods, not surprisingly, are on the south and the southern portions of the west sides of the city.

The income of the bottom 20% is about $17K, with the mean household income in that bottom quintile only $8.6K

[fumei]

Here in Vancouver:

median income $67,000
median house price $800,000

average house price $1.3 million

[TBman]

Originally Posted by fumei

Here in Vancouver:

median income $67,000
median house price $800,000

average house price $1.3 million

Well something is out of whack there.

[MikeBodd]

So, like someone said here. I'm sure the lower income earners aren't reading this.
I'm sure South Africa is a very different animal as far as countries incomes are concerned. We still have townships, locations and squatter camps. Very close to leafy suburbs and estates. The income range is vast. there are family's surviving on R3000 per month (approx $200 per month)
This goes all the way up to R500 000pm (approx. $35 000 per month). This will all be in a 30km radius. Crazy hey?!

Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk

[GHS]

Originally Posted by fumei

Here in Vancouver:

median income $67,000
median house price $800,000

average house price $1.3 million

Really, I dont get it. At that salary range you would not qualify for even 25% of the selling price ( down payment not figured in ). What???

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by GHS

Really, I dont get it. At that salary range you would not qualify for even 25% of the selling price ( down payment not figured in ). What???

Remember, median and average are different numbers.

[jalbert]

The Housing Affordability Index for San Diego (2016Q4) shows that only 26% of the population can afford to buy a median-priced house using traditional assumptions about mortgages. That means a $117K annual income against a $593K house. Yikes. The average 2 bedroom apartment rents for $2,065/month, so I can imagine that "low income" here is quite different than other parts of the country!

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by jpd

[/U]


Same out here in the SF Bay area. Avg income is very high, yet the homeless population keeps growing rapidly.

Influx from the outside, I assume.
I don't know if things have changed but when my wife and I visited SanFran many years ago, Golden Gate Park and Haight-Ashbury were awful and filled with homeless.
Maybe it's better now.

[imwjl]

Metro, safe and good schools areas probably put things out of whack all over.

Having moved from a deteriorating to a good neighborhood I see our old neighborhood is much like the median for Midwest in the Housing Affordability Index from realtors' assoc.. Homes in my neighborhood are selling 2-3 times that.

Chicago Sandy's played at the brewery in my neighborhood. The median for Midwest home and single family income are $172,000 and $64,000. Houses south of the brewery are $350,000 - $600,000 with some considerably more and one probably needs 2x that median income for the average property tax bill.

It's interesting for our kids to think we're poor because neighborhoods like that have dual family incomes working hard to be there, winners of birth lottery, and quite a few professionals where it's not a struggle to be where schools are good and safety is a given.

By our cabin and more rural town where I grew up that median home price is a nice place. In my metro area you have to have a home 100%+ for safety and good schools.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Influx from the outside, I assume.
I don't know if things have changed but when my wife and I visited SanFran many years ago, Golden Gate Park and Haight-Ashbury were awful and filled with homeless.
Maybe it's better now.

I'm finding (my simple observations with travel and visit) homeless to be more and more a problem all over. People flock to my area hoping for better jobs. In rural north by our cabin poverty is more and more of a problem. I was surprised by how much with more recent visits in the west and midwest.

I get surprised by how many are homeless via my wife's work as a school teacher and where I work. I'm guessing stats might show we (US) could be getting a growing underclass like I've seen traveling on other parts of the world.

My wife has been stressed because she's got administration pressure to somehow improve kids' grades but she teaches ESL and a group of troubled kids where there's nothing a good teacher can do. She says close to 1/2 the kids she teaches are spending their energy at survival - roof over head, safety, food and not getting raped.

[GHS]

Originally Posted by jpd

[/U]


Same out here in the SF Bay area. Avg income is very high, yet the homeless population keeps growing rapidly.

There are so many reasons for this that cannot be discussed here. Go to facebook for the truth.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by GHS

There are so many reasons for this that cannot be discussed here. Go to facebook for the truth.

Facebook ? Only sporadic and often peripherally within gargantuan loads of total nonsense. Far too much agenda driven, out of context fear mongering, baseless assertions, and general ignorance of facts, logic and objective rationale , which oozes , bubbles, and steams like the black poison swamp muck in a hobbit movie, to have much real value

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by GHS

There are so many reasons for this that cannot be discussed here. Go to facebook for the truth.

I'm not sure what you mean. This topic can be economics as much as politics and I prefer economics whether that's making it interesting or for the rules and moderators.

There's certainly earning power and winning the birth lottery that can get you in a nice neighborhood but there's also savings and living modestly. Some people pay a premium for where they live just like some do for the brand of their pants or for top quality components in their meals.

[BernebeM50]

I live in a small town in Manitoba, Canada. I work as a teacher and will make $94,000 next year but the average in town would probably be much lower. I also rent out a small house for extra income at $600 + hydro and my tenants seem to be having a hard time paying that.

I will be retiring after next year as I can't take any more crap from work and my income is going to drop to around $2000 - $2500 per month ($24K - $30K) pre tax. I own my own home that I originally paid $39,000 for, drive old vehicles (no payments) and have enough stereo equipment/music and guitars to entertain myself (I am single). Okay, maybe not enough guitars but I am resisting the urge. Canada pension is a few years away so it is not factored in.

So I will be going from middle class to poor but I think I will be much happier. There is a difference between the working poor and the retired.

[blue]

Originally Posted by imwjl

I'm not sure what you mean. This topic can be economics as much as politics and I prefer economics whether that's making it interesting or for the rules and moderators.

There's certainly earning power and winning the birth lottery that can get you in a nice neighborhood but there's also savings and living modestly. Some people pay a premium for where they live just like some do for the brand of their pants or for top quality components in their meals.

Back in 1990 when I worked fo NASA at Moffett Field CA (near places like Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Gatos, all "toney" neighborhoods) my co-workers were buying houses for above $400 grand. I traded a 45 minute to 1 hour commute to pay half that.

We all make choices every day. Since we do it every day they pile up. This includes economics, health, interpersonal relationships, and everything else. You don't just wake up one day Obese, estranged from family, or whatever.

I remember friends in high school who dropped out, or quit the football team or whatever for all kinds of reasons from wanting to get married (didn't have to, there wasn't a pregnancy) to wanting to work so they could get a car.