How is the economy in Miami-Ft lauderdale (Miami Beach, Palm Beach: middle-class, homeowners insurance)

[LAAngel2008]

how is the economy doing in the region.I live in Southern California and I was wondering if it is true that jobs pay a lot less in Florida.Your housing costs are not as high as California but I still think we are better off than you because the costs of housing are still sky high in Florida.I was just wondering if it is true that jobs do not pay very well even for people holding college degrees.For the record I have no intention of moving to florida but do like to visit Miami Beach and would like to see more of the city (but do not want to stay)

[Wild Style]

The average income in broward is 28,000 dollars a year.

The jobs do under pay and the cost of living is high. If you do a search I posted some information on this topic a few weeks ago with sources.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

The average income in broward is 28,000 dollars a year.

The jobs do under pay and the cost of living is high. If you do a search I posted some information on this topic a few weeks ago with sources.

Thats the useless per capita income, not the average. That's a fairly high per-capita, compared to a national average of 25,267.

The median household income was actually around 50,000, and median family incomes were around 60,000. The average (mean) household income was 69,312 dollars.

Broward County, Florida - Selected Economic Characteristics: 2006

The fact that per capita incomes for the entire population were around average (representing the total amount of money earned via productive activities), yet the average and median incomes were fairly high indicates a relatively low level of economic inequality.

However, it just doesn't match up with the median housing cost.

302,900

Miami-Dade County fared much worse,among the worst in the nation, and Palm Beach County fared a little better than Broward overall, but showing more disparities.

[Wild Style]

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income that is generated in their country through productive activities. That is what each citizen would receive if the yearly income generated by a country from its productive activities were divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year. While per capita income reflects gross national product per capita income when comparing nations, it is also used to compare municipalities within nations. When determining the per capita income of a community, however, it is not economic activity that is divided by the population, but the total personal income.

link

Don't really see how per capita is useless given it shows how much each person makes. If the average house hold is bringing in 50,000 that proves that the per capita income is pretty accurate.

To say that the national average is lower or about the same as florida per capita income doesn't mean anything. What means something is when you compare that (per capita income) to the cost of living in a given area. South florida is extremely over priced, but you can thank ARMs and speculation for a lot of that.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

What means something is when you compare that (per capita income) to the cost of living in a given area. South florida is extremely over priced, but you can thank ARMs and speculation for a lot of that.

And that, my friend, is the truth. Your right about per-capitas, but on the contrary, the average income here certainly isn't 28 thousand dollars .

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

And that, my friend, is the truth. Your right about per-capitas, but on the contrary, the average income here certainly isn't 28 thousand dollars .

what are you basing that off of?

[mbmouse]

OK you two, this is not an argument. You each have had your say and posted your info. You don't have to agree, the OP can take your info and make their own decision.
The end.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

OK you two, this is not an argument. You each have had your say and posted your info. You don't have to agree, the OP can take your info and make their own decision.
The end.

dude, no one is arguing. In fact in his previous post he agreed with me so there is no hostility or argument here. He made a statement and I am curious to see where he got the information from. Not so we can go back and forth but so I can be informed of whats going on in my city.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by LAAngel2008

... I was wondering if it is true that jobs pay a lot less in Florida. Your housing costs are not as high as California but I still think we are better off than you because the costs of housing are still sky high in Florida. I was just wondering if it is true that jobs do not pay very well even for people holding college degrees. ...

Yes, it's true that pay is generally less in Florida for the same job in, say, the northeast US or California. As for a college degree, nowadays that's about equivalent to what a high school degree was worth a few generations ago, and is no longer particularly impressive. That old adage still holds: it's not what you know, it's who you know. More seriously, there are high-paying jobs in SE Florida, but they are relatively few and far between and one really does need good connections.

As far as the cost of housing, the situation can be compared to California: long-time homeowners are protected against out-of-proportion property tax hikes, while new buyers face high buy prices, in most cases out of proportion with incomes (hence suicide loans, but now going out of fashion), and relatively high taxes, comparable to taxes in the northeast US but, again, out of proportion with most incomes. On top of that, since the 2004-2005 hurricanes, homeowners insurance has sky-rocketed, also out of proportion with most incomes.

Locals whose incomes have not kept pace with the increase in costs have either left or are facing hardships - or at least doing a lot of complaining - while many new residents have come from other states, apparently capable of handling the cost of living, as well as immigrants who have different measuring sticks when it comes to expectations on the quality of life.

In short, middle-class squeeze. I think you get the picture.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

what are you basing that off of?

The census data that I posted. 69 thousand is the average. Per-capita is 28.

Originally Posted by mbmouse

OK you two, this is not an argument. You each have had your say and posted your info. You don't have to agree, the OP can take your info and make their own decision.
The end.

I don't think he had the intention to argue at all, we disagree all the time but that doesn't really make an "argument". He just wanted me to clarify my statement, and disagreement can bring out some additional information on both sides that may have not been posted.