In Costly Bay Area, Even Six-Figure Salaries Are Considered ‘Low Income’

San Jose Mercury News ^ | April 22, 2017 | ANNIE SCIACCABLISHED: April 22, 2017 at 11:

[nickcarraway]

In the high-priced Bay Area, even some households that bring in six figures a year can now be considered “low income.”

That’s according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which recently released its 2017 income limits — a threshold that determines who can qualify for affordable and subsidized housing programs such as Section 8 vouchers.

San Francisco and San Mateo counties have the highest limits in the Bay Area — and among the highest such numbers in the country. A family of four with an income of $105,350 per year is considered “low income.” A $65,800 annual income is considered “very low” for a family the same size, and $39,500 is “extremely low.” The median income for those areas is $115,300.

Other Bay Area counties are not far behind. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, $80,400 for a family of four is considered low income, while in Santa Clara County, $84,750 is the low-income threshold for a family of four.

[nickcarraway]

[nickcarraway]

[Verginius Rufus]

When I lived in the Bay Area, I had six-figure incomes, but only if you counted the two numbers to the right of the decimal point.

[Windflier]

"...in Santa Clara County, $84,750 is the low-income threshold for a family of four."

I have some family members in that county. None of them earn anywhere close to that.

They're all a bunch of angry liberals, too.

[A message]

lol

Does that mean I qualify for free sh*t paid for by other peoples tax dollars.

[dp0622]

Boy CA makes us NYers seem conservatives :)

Low income threshold for 4 folks is only in the 30,000s.

[alexander_busek]

Boy CA makes us NYers seem conservatives :) Low income threshold for 4 folks is only in the 30,000s.

New York CITY?! Or "upstate," in the rural areas virtually indistinguishable from Appalachia?

Regards,

[dp0622]

It was the NYC chart.

But i’m sure there’s six other charts contradicting it :)

I know when I was on SSDI 12500 was too much in a year to get housing help. That was only 3 years ago.

[leakinInTheBlueSea]

What utter nonsense... there are plenty of 2/1 rentals available in these areas for around $1200 monthly. The cost of living in the area is inflated by taxes and the conscious decision by the local powers that be to limit development and freeway construction. So, COL goes through the roof, then they expect federal $$$ to pay for housing for those making an otherwise decent income.

[semaj]

“What utter nonsense... there are plenty of 2/1 rentals available in these areas for around $1200 monthly.”

I’d like to know what you’ve been smoking. There are no 1200.00 rentals that I’m aware of anywhere into the Bay Area, unless you count a bedroom or shared living room arrangement a rental.

[umgud]

I would have thought NYC would compete or be worse than the SF area.

[jennychase]

What are you smoking?

[dp0622]

Nah they’re cheap with subsidies.

The thresholds are incredibly outdated.

Which is a good thing if you think conservatively.

But they’re not doing it for that reason. They just want more money for unions, likely.

[Mariner]

“What utter nonsense... there are plenty of 2/1 rentals available in these areas for around $1200 monthly. “

I was going to take a contract in Palo Alto until I checked the rents. Within 30 miles there was nothing under $2500/mo for 1 bed and closer in it was about $3,000/mo for a studio.

Of course one could live 50-60 miles outside the core and try to navigate that Bay Area traffic for the commute, and find cheaper rent.

[Windflier]

Boy CA makes us NYers seem conservatives :)

Spend some time in California if you get the chance. You'll find that the libs out there are merely a slightly different flavor of the NY libs you deal with all the time.

Both are pretty yucky.

[Vendome]

Uhn, huh...

And what color is sky in your world???

[dp0622]

You’re probably right.

But his is my home and I’m not surrendering it up to the left just because they outnumber me 5 to 1 :)

I will enjoy the cultural landmarks and the cuisine and the opera, among other things, and I will continue to fight against the libs as I have always done.

Hey, we won once twice with Rudy :)

I know he’s not a conservative, but so few republicans in power are these days that who would notice? :)

[JohnBrowdie]

the money shot is buried in the last two 'graphs; a liberal learns how life works:

---

A member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Larkins, the Home Depot employee, has been active in campaigns to improve wages for herself and others in low-wage industries like retail. While such efforts have been successful in lifting minimum wages across the state, it can still be a struggle for those workers to survive in the Bay Area.

“Minimum wage is going up, but it would be different if the cost of living was the same as when I was a teenager,” Larkins said. “Minimum wage goes up, and the cost of living goes up.”

[lkco]

My son rented a shed in someone’s yard last summer in Palo Alto for $1300. He was a college intern (with a $1700 housing allowance) so it wasn’t a step down from the fraterntity and he came out ahead.

[faithhopecharity]

Yes! I just visited a “senior citizens nutrition centre” - a couple hundred old folks eating free lunches ($3 donation is voluntary). The average car in the parking lot was at least $35 or More thousand dollars, almost none more than a couple years old. It looked like a new car dealership ( Lexus Toyota and BMW ). Further, they almost all own million dollar homes and when they’re not discussing their various aches and pains - or bingo - it’s all about schemes how to avoid paying taxes. They’ve got money. They’ve also got free taxpayer paid meals. There could be s few poor folk in the room but you wouldn’t know it from their new cars or expensive houses or conversations.