Median income of your area

[Guest]

My dh looked at jobs in high COL areas and the salaries did not compensate for the increased costs.

 

Truly so many of the financial and lifestyle suggestions people make do not take into account the vast differences in COL.

 

When we moved here from Denver 30 years ago, this WAS the lower COL.  Higher medical, lower housing costs here.  But not anymore.  Mercifully, we spent our last future dime to get a house then and we got lucky with our jobs...but otherwise, we would be up a stump.  

[Guest]

Well...you might not enjoy a move to our town. We have a low median income but the town is not doing well. We have so much poverty that our schools are in a program that provides free lunch and breakfast to every kid...no more applying for free lunches. Everyone automatically gets one. And property taxes are high. Our house is valued at less than $100,000 and the taxes are more than $4000 a year. For a lot of families the property tax burden is crippling.

 

In the past 15 years our town's median income has plummeted. It's pretty sad.

True. There are plenty of parts of eh country we'd never move to no matter how cheap they are. We like mountains, water, and cities within driving distance, so that eliminates a lot of the areas in unrecoverable economic downturns.

[Kalmia]

Around $45,000.

[ikslo]

$58K

[umsami]

$53k.   COL is 98.  It's a huge city, though.  Largest in size (not population).  So there are a lot of variables. Schools are awful.  Crime is awful too.  Housing is plentiful.

Edited March 15, 2017 by umsami

[JonesinIndiana]

Our city $26,613

 

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[Zoo Keeper]

My zip--$25 -$29 K.  My search engines disagree with each other.  I did find out that average incomes in my area have taken a 13% downturn in the past 10 years.  :(

[arnold]

Median income $109,464; COL index 102.

[gardenmom5]

We live in a beautiful area, and over the last 20 years have become a retirement community for people from Los Angeles and the CA valley. That is who is buying the majority of houses and driving the insane prices. Housing is a huge issue here.

The Vancouver bc metro made it harder for noncanadians to buy houses.

Now the Chinese have come south looking for houses to get their money out of china. Prices here have gone insane in the last few months. Last time I checked, there were 14 houses below $1M. 3 were tear downs - 2 of them were $800k.

Edited March 15, 2017 by gardenmom5

[TravelingChris]

Median household is 49060 and family median is 65000.  Mean household average is 75ooo and family mean average is 90700

[Guest]

The Vancouver bc metro made it harder for noncanadians to buy houses.

Now the Chinese have come south looking for houses to get their money out of china. Prices here have gone insane in the last few months. Last time I checked, there were 14 houses below $1M. 3 were tear downs - 2 of them were $800k.

 

That's insane. :scared:  You'll have people thinking moving to San Francisco is a bargain before long. 

[Katy]

Why are you asking?

[Meriwether]

$52,698 - A good $20,000 higher than the town I grew up in.

 

[Tap]

Well, depends on how you define area LOL

 

 

My zip code....50,000

my city............50,000

my county.......50,000

 

by zip code

5 miles west   48,000

7 miles west   78,000 

5 miles north  71,000

5 miles south  63,000

 

 

 

The further south you go in our city, the lower the income. 

[madteaparty]

Looks like $28,000. Perhaps because even graduate students have to pay income tax and we likely have a high proportion?

I find that crazy low for your town, wow.

[abacus2]

Estimated median household income in 2015: $43,156

[BigMamaBird]

Our little town in $72,561, in the nearby largish city, $48,847.

 

 

[Guest]

I couldn't find the median income for this but here are the COL numbers

 

My zip was what, 180ish? The zip code changes 2 blocks from my house and the Col is 250ish.

 

Whew! Dodged that bullet. ðŸ˜ðŸ¤¡

[matrips]

$43,306

[Crimson Wife]

$138k but unless you bought when housing prices were lower, you'd have a hard time living here on the median income.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CadenceSophia]

99k ... Boy I thought we were doing really well until I saw that lol :)

[KungFuPanda]

$138k but unless you bought when housing prices were lower, you'd have a hard time living here on the median income.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the formula for my town is just to take the national average and double it. To answer the How do people live there question, I think it's because we're paying yesterday's home prices with today's income. I doubt that most people actually make the median amount AND are purchasing a SFH at today's prices.

[DawnM]

When I look up our county data on city-data, it comes up with 61K (vs 58K via the census) for median income and 242K for median detached house value.

 

I can't fathom how folks buy houses where you live...

 

Our city used to look like that.  I think both numbers don't always keep up with each other.

 

For example, where I live now, they have just built about 5 new, large sub-divisions with $1M homes.  That changes the "average."  And in those homes, there will be folks with larger incomes (usually), which will bring up the average there as well.

 

But the housing goes up before the income, which makes me wonder if they take into consideration homes that aren't finished yet, but are contracted to be built.

 

I don't know, but our town used to show something similar, $60K average salary with $600K average home prices.  Obviously, unless you have inherited a boatload of money, you aren't buying a $600K home with a $60K salary.

[athomeontheprairie]

26,800.

[bettyandbob]

I think the formula for my town is just to take the national average and double it. To answer the How do people live there question, I think it's because we're paying yesterday's home prices with today's income. I doubt that most people actually make the median amount AND are purchasing a SFH at today's prices.

Yup. I bought my current townhome 19 years ago. I could not buy anything today. Circumstances are such that my family's finances were a lot better 19 years ago and housing prices are significantly higher.

 

Comparable homes have been selling for over 500,000. This is an almost 50 year old townhouse. That will likely go up shortly due development nearby (within .25 mile) having townhouses for 800,000. We can walk to major public transit.

 

My family doesn't fit in because we make significantly less less than median. Our mortgage is way belong rents for a one bedroom apartment. So selling and moving would not help.

 

I see families with adult children who are working professionals living in the home. The younger families moving in appear to have much higher incomes than the median. Some older people are renting rooms in their homes and there is at least one group house with 4 young men (love them--they shoveled much of our street in last year's snow storm).

[tdbates78]

$71,368 in my town (in South Charlotte, NC) according to recent data.

[speedmom4]

Median household income is $53,337.

[mommyoffive]

$71,368 in my town (in South Charlotte, NC) according to recent data.

 

Wow

 

I thought NC was cheap. 

[DawnM]

Wow

 

I thought NC was cheap. 

 

I am in NC too.  

 

Median income for my town is $197K and median home is $650K (roughly, my exact amounts were listed earlier in the thread.)

 

I live about 10 miles South of Tracy.

[mommyoffive]

I am in NC too.  

 

Median income for my town is $197K and median home is $650K (roughly, my exact amounts were listed earlier in the thread.)

 

I live about 10 miles South of Tracy.

 

 

Holy smokes.   I was thinking NC was a place we should move.   I think not. 

[DawnM]

Holy smokes.   I was thinking NC was a place we should move.   I think not. 

 

 

There are PLENTY of lower priced areas.  Really.  These just happen to be higher priced areas.  

 

Where were you thinking of looking?  Take a look at City-Data and find lower priced options.  

 

Just stay away from these:

 

https://www.homesnacks.net/most-expensive-cities-in-north-carolina-127574/

Edited March 16, 2017 by DawnM

[mom2scouts]

For my city, it's $35,000.

[readinmom]

$64,250

 

$342,000 avg. home price

Edited March 16, 2017 by readinmom

[Arcadia]

When I look up our county data on city-data, it comes up with 61K (vs 58K via the census) for median income and 242K for median detached house value.

 

I can't fathom how folks buy houses where you live...

My zip code has a high renter population. The monthly cost without mortgage is about there for my area because the townhomes and single family homes are under HOA too. My upstairs neighbor rented out his 865sqft one bedroom condo for $2750, so if someone can afford the 20% down payment buying can be cheaper.

 

"Houses and condos: 9,004

Renter-occupied apartments: 4,876

% of renters here: 58%

State: 46%

 

Estimated median household income in 2015:

This zip code: $121,669

California: $64,500

 

Housing units in zip code ***** with a mortgage: 2,983 (189 second mortgage, 314 home equity loan, 17 both second mortgage and home equity loan)

Houses without a mortgage: 574

 

Median monthly owner costs for units with a mortgage: $3,033

Median monthly owner costs for units without a mortgage: $618"

[creekland]

 My upstairs neighbor rented out his 865sqft one bedroom condo for $2750, 

 

I definitely prefer living in a lower COL area.  Fortunately, we're not fond of cities/suburbs or city living, so that helps.  One can get oodles of house and/or land around here with that kind of payment.  Even half of that rents one of our 3 bedroom single family rentals in nice neighborhoods - which matters because our average income is half of your area.

[MomatHWTK]

My area per Sperling's:

 

  Income per Cap.           Here: $33,868      US: $28,555

  Household Income       Here: $70,190       US: $53,482

 Family Median Income  Here: $85,317       US:  $65,443

 

 

 

 

Cost of Living (also from Sperling's):

(Comparing Local cost to base of 100 for US average)

Overall    93

Grocery  89.4

Health     94

Housing  87  (Median home price is $162,100)

Utilities   105

Transportation  97

Miscellaneous  98 

 

So average costs but a little higher income. Moderate to upper-middle flyover country. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by MomatHWTK

[Noreen Claire]

my town: $71, 392.

 

the town a few blocks away: $34, 852

[Crimson Wife]

Yup. I bought my current townhome 19 years ago. I could not buy anything today. Circumstances are such that my family's finances were a lot better 19 years ago and housing prices are significantly higher.

 

We bought only 7 years ago but couldn't afford our home at its current value without me going back to work and making more than I'd be likely to.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Thanks for the responses. I don't really have a reason for asking. It's just something that came up this week and I was wondering if our town really is that 'bad off' when compared to other places. Although my town isn't the worst town represented on the Board, it certainly is in the bottom 10. It puts the recent job openings at the local CC into perspective; $22,000 for FT business office employee & $32,000 for a FT alumni relations/scholarship director.

 

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

Median household income: $105,585.  COL index:  128  (Housing index is 193).  We live in the "poor" area of town (comfortable middle class neighborhood, no McMansions (except the tear-downs.) 

[Crimson Wife]

So looking at our local CC, I see openings for a FT Student Services Coordinator at $54.8k, a FT Fiscal Operations Specialist at $77.4k, and a FT Office Assistant I at $33.5k. So definitely quite a bit more but given that rents are crazy high, the purchasing power is probably less.

[Murphy101]

Household median is 63400.

[4everHis]

$39,192

[Katy]

Am I the only one who's suspicious of questions like this?  I always wonder if someone is asking because they think there's a trend with home school families to fit a certain demographic, or because they're trying to figure out which of us to scam.

[Arcadia]

Am I the only one who's suspicious of questions like this? I always wonder if someone is asking because they think there's a trend with home school families to fit a certain demographic, or because they're trying to figure out which of us to scam.

OP's school district is eliminating all librarians and proposing to eliminate the 3 nurses who travel from school to school each day and replacing them with CNAs (http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/630741-things-that-make-you-wonder-about-people/?p=7496171)

So I guess I see this thread as a kind of spin off, and there are no ill intentions behind it.

 

ETA:

OP did mention why in #143

Edited March 16, 2017 by Arcadia

[creekland]

Am I the only one who's suspicious of questions like this?  I always wonder if someone is asking because they think there's a trend with home school families to fit a certain demographic, or because they're trying to figure out which of us to scam.

 

I don't have a problem with it TBH.  I suspect people are merely curious.  Even if they're looking for certain demographics with homeschoolers, I'm probably as curious as they are.

 

I'm not worried in the least about getting scammed - esp from the OP on this one.

[regentrude]

Am I the only one who's suspicious of questions like this?  I always wonder if someone is asking because they think there's a trend with home school families to fit a certain demographic, or because they're trying to figure out which of us to scam.

 

I don't suspect that a poster who has been contributing a long time on these boards is spending her time here so she can scam a fellow boardie.

 

A newbie asking such a question in the first post? Maybe a bit weird. 

 

I have a hard time imagining how anybody would scam me based on knowing the median household income in my county. 

 

None of the info should be surprising because we KNOW from reading each others' posts that some live in the Bay Area and some in an economically depressed town in Michigan, and that the economic circumstances of hs families are widely differing.

Edited March 16, 2017 by regentrude

[MomatHWTK]

Thanks for the responses. I don't really have a reason for asking. It's just something that came up this week and I was wondering if our town really is that 'bad off' when compared to other places. Although my town isn't the worst town represented on the Board, it certainly is in the bottom 10. It puts the recent job openings at the local CC into perspective; $22,000 for FT business office employee & $32,000 for a FT alumni relations/scholarship director.

 

 

I think it is helpful to see the averages and COL across the nation because it takes me out of my bubble. Wow, $22K was low-medium paying office work when I was a fresh graduate (a very long time ago). I suspect entry level salaries have not moved for quite some time. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by MomatHWTK

[slackermom]

For the city I live in, the median household income is $55,000, and the average household income is $85,000

The city in which my child attends school has a median household income of $68,000, and an average household income of $86,000.

 

My immediate neighborhood's median income is lower, about $40,000, but the neighbors are mostly young, mostly single, living in apartments. Last time I checked, there were only 4 school-aged kids in this neighborhood.

 

.

[Guest]

I live in a high COL area and my zip code median household income is

$127,596, according to the internet.