Average income in Portland? (best cities, real estate, apartment)

[Supernova7]

What would you say is the "average" single person and household income in Portland?

[oldtintype]

Google Portland median income and it will give you the stats.

[Supernova7]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

Google Portland median income and it will give you the stats.

I did that already. I trust local input more than statistics as those are often fixed.

[Lillietta]

Might be difficult for individuals to know the answer to this.

[texsteve78]

Check out the U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2006. It's not fixed..

Median Household Income in Portland Metro: $52,480

[PeacePlease]

I have no idea how the locals afford the real estate.. just doesn't make sense. And then prices keep appreciating...

[argo69]

[“We sold our 500-square-foot New York apartment, and with the money, we bought a house with a swimming pool, two cars, and had enough left to open a restaurant,” Mr. Paley said.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/dining/26port.html?hp

From a New York Times article which includes the story of a New York couple who recently moved to Portland. As long as people from more expensive metro's continue to migrate to Portland, it really doesn't matter if the average Portlander making the average salary can afford a home or not...the newcomers are happy to snap them up. And who can blame them? Portland is unquestionably one of the best cities in the country in my opinion!

A recent chart I saw, showed San Francisco and Portland as the two cities with the fewest affordable homes based on median income. I was surprised to find Seattle, New York and Los Angeles all showing with more affordable homes/condo's due to the higher salary ranges.

[Squidlo]

I think the reality is setting in. Just how would locals afford housing when the costs are outstripping wages by over triple? Maybe the locals can be put on a reservation?


Squidlo

[PeacePlease]

In Austin, a lot of people are moving here from all over the country. The good news is that the local economy is strong. However, the competition in the job market is strong too.

I do agree with the other posters. If you plan on moving to Portland, make sure to line up a job before moving.

[kelcat]

Originally Posted by argo69

A recent chart I saw, showed San Francisco and Portland as the two cities with the fewest affordable homes based on median income. I was surprised to find Seattle, New York and Los Angeles all showing with more affordable homes/condo's due to the higher salary ranges.

The biggest difference in the affordability is how far out from the center you need to go in order to get the "affordable" * you're talking about. I don't know about Seattle or LA but in NYC there are a limited amount of affordable (vs. "market rate") housing stock being built relatively close in due to government zoning incentives and such but most of the "affordable" stuff is outside of Manhattan or on the northern tip of the island, a MINIMUM 45 minute subway ride to Midtown and can get to an hour to hour and a half depending on the time of day and how close you live to an express stop.

The great thing about Portland is that you still can find a decent house for under $350K within a 20 minute bike ride away or a 30 minute MAX ride.

I think it depends on how you define the borders of the area you are examining and the size of the place. I believe that is why Seattle or LA might come out smelling better than Portland ON PAPER, they're bigger and have more real estate to play with than with PDX's growth boundary limiting the real estate playroom. If you messed around with the area included in the study you might come out even, who knows?

*what does "affordable" mean anyway? Affordable by whom?