Austin's wealthiest zip code?

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

Equity = wealth. Does it not? Perhaps a lot of the homes in 78739 have been paid down, or paid off.

okay, so let's break down the 1.68MM figure - the average house is worth 349K, and the average salary is 90K, with only an average of 2.5K worth of taxable dividends annually.

That's a big hole - inheritance or houses paid for by parents, maybe? I can't put my finger on where that extra wealth is hiding.

No. Equity in a home doesn't equal wealth. If you have a lot of equity in your homestead it doesn't mean you have wealth of any other kind. There are a lot of people whose only asset is their home. There are people who have large salaries who burn through every dime they make and then some. There are many who appear wealthy from the outside-- with hugh salaries and pricey jomes --- who are barely holding it together. And then there are the people who have amassed a great deal of wealth through smart saving and investing who live quite far below their means. Like I said, many people make the mistake of equating wealth with income and home value.

[hillcountryheart]

I live in '39, and anecdotally I do see a combination of three trends:

1) the dual earner household, with more than 2x the median salary in the metro;
2) the single earner household, with the wife working very hard at saving money while appearing to
be wealthy;
3) Mom and Dad paid for college, the wedding, the starter house and a chunk of the '39 house.

Some of us got in before prices got seriously crazy, but not many.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

Equity = wealth. Does it not? Perhaps a lot of the homes in 78739 have been paid down, or paid off.

okay, so let's break down the 1.68MM figure - the average house is worth 349K, and the average salary is 90K, with only an average of 2.5K worth of taxable dividends annually.

That's a big hole - inheritance or houses paid for by parents, maybe? I can't put my finger on where that extra wealth is hiding.

Those numbers add up to a big error in that zip code ranking.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

Those numbers add up to a big error in that zip code ranking.

I concur. I know several families in that area, what they do for a living, and what they paid for their houses, and it nowhere near approaches 1.68 Million dollars.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

Those numbers add up to a big error in that zip code ranking.

You could start with the big errors in his numbers. Go look at the ESRI numbers in the article, based on 2014 data - not 2005 data from CD.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by scm53

You could start with the big errors in his numbers. Go look at the ESRI numbers in the article, based on 2014 data - not 2005 data from CD.

The median value of 349K was from 2011
The average HHI was 132K in 2011

132K HHI sounds really low for that zip. My spouse and I make 140K annually, and we aren't wealthy either. We certainly wouldn't pay 349K for a house, but that's us.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

The median value of 349K was from 2011
The average HHI was 132K in 2011

Sorry. I was going off what came before on the CD page you used:

Averages for the 2004 tax year for zip code 78739, filed in 2005:
Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in 2004: $101,995 (Individual Income Tax Returns)
Here: $101,995
State: $47,881

That $132K number for 2011 was an estimate. ESRI, who is in this business, says 2014 HHI was $160K. The net worth number, I have no clue, because I don't get to look at people's financials. I also think the ESRI $411K house value is closer to reality than $349K. Try to buy a house in '39 right now for $349K. Few and far between - with plenty over $550K.