Pittsburgh 5th poorest big city, census shows

[pman]

Originally Posted by Geeo

What I'm getting from this report is that while median household income is low (maybe because of so many senior citizens?), that doesn't mean that those people live in poverty. So the P-G story was a little inaccurate.

you'd also have to account for cost of living. $35k in pittsburgh is a lot different than $35k in nyc or anywhere in California. An average income coudl be skewed, I suppose, if Pittsburgh had a large amount of wealthy neighborhoods within city limits. skewed in the sense that it doesn't indicate what most people make. I too found it all very confusing. Philadelphia has a very high poverty rate but I don't think it's median income is any lower than Pittsburgh's. I guess it just means that pittsburgh has less money than many but enough to not be "poor." like I said though, if they don't account for the very large differences in cost of living, what does it even mean?

[fleetiebelle]

you'd also have to account for cost of living. $35k in pittsburgh is a lot different than $35k in nyc or anywhere in California.

I agree. Most of my colleagues in the non-profit ghetto (me included) make around this much, and none of us would consider ourselves to be living in poverty. Most of us own homes, etc. Now, if I was living in DC or NYC and made my current salary, I'd be living in a storage locker.

[Geeo]

The poverty rankings of cities are not what was published inthe P-G this morning, so that's what's so confusing when compared to how it's being reported in the Cleveland media. The poverty rankings refer to the percentage of households living under the poverty line, which I think was between $16K and $18K for a family of three. Pittsburgh does not make the list of poorest cities according to these guidelines, whereas Cleveland has 29.5% of its population living below that line. I think ours is under 20%. Cincinnati, the 10th poorest city on the list, has 23.5% of its population living in poverty, and Philadelphia is #9 at 23.8%. Our median household income, which is the angle the P-G took this morning, is not far under the average for cities in this part of the country.

[Katarina Witt]

Thanks, Geeo. In re: the cost of living in Pgh being lower, while true, the poverty line is pretty low for ANYWHERE. And I believe the poverty line has some regional adjustments to it, anyway. I agree the story in the PG was misleading in more ways than one.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by pman

you'd also have to account for cost of living. $35k in pittsburgh is a lot different than $35k in nyc or anywhere in California. An average income coudl be skewed, I suppose, if Pittsburgh had a large amount of wealthy neighborhoods within city limits. skewed in the sense that it doesn't indicate what most people make. I too found it all very confusing. Philadelphia has a very high poverty rate but I don't think it's median income is any lower than Pittsburgh's. I guess it just means that pittsburgh has less money than many but enough to not be "poor." like I said though, if they don't account for the very large differences in cost of living, what does it even mean?

Exactly. One man's "poverty" is another man's "inexpensive".

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Exactly. One man's "poverty" is another man's "inexpensive".

I was looking for just the right place to post this, since the original thread is closed. Closed...closed..oh yeah, I closed today!!! Woohoo, somebody recommend a plumber, not that I need one yet.


A couple of years of taxes in California will buy you a house in Pittsburgh. It's true.