Low Income Households growing at Fastest Rate in Boston (Amherst: middle-class, 2014)

[BostonBornMassMade]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/20...3KP/story.html


Since 1990 Boston has:

Gained 19,525 Low-Income Households

Lost 6,684 Middle-Income Households

Gained 18,410 High-Income Households

There are 112k low income households.

There are 34k middle income households

There are 112k high income households.

For all the talk of Bostons prosperity on this forum(not just here). This does really bode well with that. Do you all think the positives of growth in high income households outweighs the negatives aspect of the growth in low-income households and the decline in middle income households?

We all know union busting and offshoring is largely to blame but what could city leadership have done differently? What could voters have done differently? Also remember we got rid of rent control during this time (Boston vote overwhelmingly to keep it but Massachusetts as a whole voted BARELY against it).

[JacksonPanther]

Someone has to do the grunt work in a city, so no surprise that low income numbers go in lock step with high income.

Where do cops, nurses, pharmacy workers, teachers, fall? Who teaches the kids of the high income earners?

[KoNgFooCj]

I say that's a good thing. Well specifically what would be great is low income housing units. A city loses its soul when only the rich are allowed to live there. Some would probably say that's a bad sign and the healthiest, most successful city is one which has priced out anyone making less than 100k. Everyone has their own opinion.

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by KoNgFooCj

I say that's a good thing. Well specifically what would be great is low income housing units. A city loses its soul when only the rich are allowed to live there. Some would probably say that's a bad sign and the healthiest, most successful city is one which has priced out anyone making less than 100k. Everyone has their own opinion.

I was about to say this seems to blow out the whole “gentrification” and displacement argument if poor people are in fact not getting priced out of the city.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Someone has to do the grunt work in a city, so no surprise that low income numbers go in lock step with high income.

Where do cops, nurses, pharmacy workers, teachers, fall? Who teaches the kids of the high income earners?

To the burbs.

[BosYuppie]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

To the burbs.

Same as it ever was!

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

Same as it ever was!

That’s just the thing-clearly it wasn’t as much of the case in 1990.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/20...3KP/story.html


Since 1990 Boston has:

Gained 19,525 Low-Income Households

Lost 6,684 Middle-Income Households

Gained 18,410 High-Income Households

There are 112k low income households.

There are 34k middle income households

There are 112k high income households.

For all the talk of Bostons prosperity on this forum(not just here). This does really bode well with that. Do you all think the positives of growth in high income households outweighs the negatives aspect of the growth in low-income households and the decline in middle income households?

We all know union busting and offshoring is largely to blame but what could city leadership have done differently? What could voters have done differently? Also remember we got rid of rent control during this time (Boston vote overwhelmingly to keep it but Massachusetts as a whole voted BARELY against it).

There are 152,000 college students in Boston. Amherst has a 37.3% poverty rate. The US Census doesn't distinguish between college students declaring residence in Boston and long term residents.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

There are 152,000 college students in Boston. Amherst has a 37.3% poverty rate. The US Census doesn't distinguish between college students declaring residence in Boston and long term residents.

Let not make excuses:


Form the City of Boston itself,

From March 2014:

http://www.bostonplans.org/getattach...c-8b4419587b86

Boston poverty rate is 21.6% and 19% without college students.

28% of colleges students who identify as living in Boston also are identified as being in poverty.

Poverty rate for all 18-24 year olds in the city was 41%.

21.6% of eldery lived in poverty\.

23.3% of foreign born people live in poverty.

34.8% of hispanics in Boston were living in poverty at the time of this report. Asd were 26.6% of asians.

Roxbury had a childhood poverty rate of 49.7% at the time of this report. South Boston was 43% Charlestown was 42% and mission hill was 39.4%

Across the city 30.4% of children lived in poverty.

Whats damning about these stats is that their not adjusted for COL.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Let not make excuses:


Form the City of Boston itself,

From March 2014:

http://www.bostonplans.org/getattach...c-8b4419587b86

Boston poverty rate is 21.6% and 19% without college students.

28% of colleges students who identify as living in Boston also are identified as being in poverty.

Poverty rate for all 18-24 year olds in the city was 41%.

21.6% of eldery lived in poverty\.

23.3% of foreign born people live in poverty.

34.8% of hispanics in Boston were living in poverty at the time of this report. Asd were 26.6% of asians.

Roxbury had a childhood poverty rate of 49.7% at the time of this report. South Boston was 43% Charlestown was 42% and mission hill was 39.4%

Across the city 30.4% of children lived in poverty.

Whats damning about these stats is that their not adjusted for COL.

I recently started this thread about the not so flattering Supplemental Poverty rate (poverty level adjusted for COL and other measures) in MA:


//www.city-data.com/forum/massa...-rate-new.html

I'm not sure where to find the breakdown by city, but I figure it would me MUCH higher in some of these Boston neighborhoods.