Miami Median Income Understated?

[WINTERFRONT]

Off topic, It would be cool to see a City of Miami map where upper middle class and above people live, then a chart showing the total population of people living in those areas as permanent residents. This way we can see the percentage of residents who live confortably in Miami.
Im sure the result would be the same for most of America.

[Marc Middleton]

City is so poor yet the average home price is well above average price in most of Florida/U.S.A

How are all these 'broke' people living in these $400k+ homes?

Rent to Income ratios are higher in Miami than most cities so I'm not saying Miami is a cheap city by any means. But it doesn't compare to Boston/L.A/S.F/NYC, etc.
I'd rather have a $75k/year job in Miami than a $100k/year job in Boston as far as cost of living goes. (nothing about sports teams or weather or anything, just cost of living).

[oronzous]

Originally Posted by Marc Middleton

Rent to Income ratios are higher in Miami than most cities

My issue with that metric, which I often see on the local newspapers, is that "rent" probably doesn't account for the multiple informal arrangements (room letting, sub letting, efficiencies, sharing) that are quite common in Miami

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by WINTERFRONT

Off topic, It would be cool to see a City of Miami map where upper middle class and above people live,.

That's easy, follow the water. Also super wealthy neighborhoods like Coral Gables and Key Biscayne have a higher percentage of full time residents than other wealthy neighborhoods.

[PSI305]

Lets be honest. In Miami there's a lot of undeclared income. From self employed people who work for cash or "por la izquierda" and don't report any income to people who rent out whole houses and don't declare any of that income either even though they are raking in thousands of dollars. I remember back in the early 2000's in some interview the Hialeah mayor said he had trouble convincing big national retailers to move to Hialeah because the average income was so low. He says he didn't know how to explain to these people about the underground economy that exists among Hispanics. Basically people lie in order to not have to pay taxes or to get government assistance. For example, old people will say they live alone in order to get more government benefits because if they admitted that they live with their family they'd get much less money. So yeah, South Florida definitely appears much poorer on paper than what it really is.

[pslhomie]

Miami is the "Garage Apartment" capitol of the world. You can go into just about any neighborhood in Miami and find 8 out of 10 garages converted into apartments. Just look for the 10 cars parked in the yard. Miami has only two types of people. Rich and low class.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

Miami has only two types of people. Rich and low class.

Interesting observation considering you're not rich....

[Marc Middleton]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

Interesting observation considering you're not rich....

Lol you've been dealing the sarcasm out this past week!

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by Marc Middleton

Lol you've been dealing the sarcasm out this past week!

I probably should change my SN to SarcasticManofBethesda.

(Even my mother isn't exempt from my sarcasm. The other day she called me and when I answered with a typical hello, she replied with a raised voice "MMoB?" When I then asked her if she had forgotten who she called, she replied that at first she didn't recognize my voice, but when she heard my sarcastic response, she knew it was me.)