What do YOU think is middle class income in Chicago? (fit in, for rent)

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

Nobody should ever spend half of their take home on rent. That is only for a 1 bedroom too, somewhere there has to be a sacrifice there whether its location or choosing a studio vs. 1 bed.

MassVT posted that it's common in Boston to spend 50% of gross income on rent.

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

MassVT posted that it's common in Boston to spend 50% of gross income on rent.

And there would be no reason to in Chicago. A single person with $4k+ per month in take home pay should be able to easily find a nice one-bedroom in the $1200-1500/month range.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

Nobody should ever spend half of their take home on rent. That is only for a 1 bedroom too, somewhere there has to be a sacrifice there whether its location or choosing a studio vs. 1 bed.

Did you miss the work I laid out for you? You must be putting aside 25% to your 401K and put aside over $1000/month to your savings/retirement fund right? Because if not, something is wrong and you should look at your habits.


Let me do this simpler. I have experience at that salary even purchasing stock and putting a respectable percentage to 401K. $4000-$4500/month on that salary after everything.

1) $1200/month for 1 bedroom apartment somewhere (i.e....Lakeview) and $75/month for utilities. $2725 - $3225
2) Car payment ($300/mo), Insurance ($75/mo), Gas ($100/mo), Parking ($100/mo). $2150-$2650
3) Cell phone ($100/mo), Internet/TV ($80/mo), and groceries ($200/mo). $1770 - $2270
4) Unlimited CTA pass ($100/mo). $1670 - $2170
4) Work lunches at $10/day = $200-$250/month. $1420 - $1970
5) Dinner twice a week at $40 per = $320 - $400/month. $1020 - $1650
6) Bar time at $40/weekend = $160 - $200/month. $820 - $1490
7) 1 concert per month at $30 = $790 - $1460

It probably lies at least in between that above which is $1125/month and probably to the right of it. If that would be your entire spending habits for a month above, you're probably saving over $13,000/year, which if you continued that for 30 years would be $405,000 without any interest and not counting your 401K or stock, or your probably increasing salary over the years, a significant other, future kids, etc.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

And there would be no reason to in Chicago. A single person with $4k+ per month in take home pay should be able to easily find a nice one-bedroom in the $1200-1500/month range.

I agree.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

According to the ol' Google Machine, median household income in Chicago is almost 44k. National average is 51k. In NYC it's just a few hundred bucks below national average. The median household income in Beverly Hills is still under 80k, and that's with household prices over 850k, on average. This NYT calculator suggests that at 81k, you're in the top 37% of Chicago metro residents. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...-map.html?_r=0

I get not feeling wealthy. My wife and I are fortunate enough to have a household income well in excess of that figure, and while we're definitely comfortable, we don't feel wealthy. However, we could live just fine on half of what we make. A third of what we make if we really needed to. Especially once we finish paying off student loans. Furthermore, being "middle class" doesn't equal access to luxury. At least not unlimited luxury. There are lots of luxuries you probably use and don't even think that much about them.

Your lifestyle tends to expand to fit your budget. Sounds like your tastes might be a little on the expensive side. I know for a fact that there are plenty of very nice one bedrooms in good areas for under 1500/month.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by romnation

Just curious as to what everyone would consider a middle class income in this city. I make 35k and my girlfriend makes around 20k, (which is obviously a lot less after taxes), this would supposedly put us in the middle class, with Chicago's median household income at at around $43,000. We still struggle many months living in this city when random stuff comes up such as car repair. We find that we aren't able to enjoy the countless city amenities as much as we'd like to due to lack of funds. We definitely don't really feel middle class, we feel quite poor sometimes, especially having both moved from cheap Indiana. Our apt is $1150 a month, utilities included in Logan Square, but with things like $200 a month car insurance everything starts to add up real quickly.

I'm a bit late to the discussion here, but I made less than what your girlfriend makes when I lived in Chicago but I was always able to go out and enjoy the city.

Granted, I lived on the south side so the rent was cheaper. But the thing about living there was that I never, ever drove or owned a car. You really don't need a car in Chicago so you might want to just ditch it, especially living on the north side.

You will save lots of money not owning a car. Do you have car payments as well?

[ChiGuy2.5]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Did you miss the work I laid out for you? You must be putting aside 25% to your 401K and put aside over $1000/month to your savings/retirement fund right? Because if not, something is wrong and you should look at your habits.


Let me do this simpler. I have experience at that salary even purchasing stock and putting a respectable percentage to 401K. $4000-$4500/month on that salary after everything.

1) $1200/month for 1 bedroom apartment somewhere (i.e....Lakeview) and $75/month for utilities. $2725 - $3225
2) Car payment ($300/mo), Insurance ($75/mo), Gas ($100/mo), Parking ($100/mo). $2150-$2650
3) Cell phone ($100/mo), Internet/TV ($80/mo), and groceries ($200/mo). $1770 - $2270
4) Unlimited CTA pass ($100/mo). $1670 - $2170
4) Work lunches at $10/day = $200-$250/month. $1420 - $1970
5) Dinner twice a week at $40 per = $320 - $400/month. $1020 - $1650
6) Bar time at $40/weekend = $160 - $200/month. $820 - $1490
7) 1 concert per month at $30 = $790 - $1460

It probably lies at least in between that above which is $1125/month and probably to the right of it. If that would be your entire spending habits for a month above, you're probably saving over $13,000/year, which if you continued that for 30 years would be $405,000 without any interest and not counting your 401K or stock, or your probably increasing salary over the years, a significant other, future kids, etc.

I wasn't looking for financial advice. It was a discussion around whether or not I am considered lower middle class or middle middle class. Personally, I believe I am lower middle class. I choose to spend my money on the more expensive clothes and go golfing at some nice golf clubs every now and then. I am not broke by any means. However, I still don't think I qualify for middle middle class. IMO if I could make what I make AND be a part of a dual income household then most definitely. I am not though. I pay all of my own bills and its not like I can go out every weekend and go nuts (like some of my friends do).

I am not looking for financial advice, I am doing just fine.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

I wasn't looking for financial advice. It was a discussion around whether or not I am considered lower middle class or middle middle class. Personally, I believe I am lower middle class. I choose to spend my money on the more expensive clothes and go golfing at some nice golf clubs every now and then. I am not broke by any means. However, I still don't think I qualify for middle middle class. IMO if I could make what I make AND be a part of a dual income household then most definitely. I am not though. I pay all of my own bills and its not like I can go out every weekend and go nuts (like some of my friends do).

I am not looking for financial advice, I am doing just fine.

The reason why you think you aren't middle middle class is in your head and due to the outcomes of your spending habits. Any legitimate Economist and Sociologist would tell you your salary is solidly middle class even for living in the middle of Chicago. I would put a lot of real money down on the fact that almost no people, even in those fields, would agree with you on what you think your class standing is.

Even if the average individual income of the US was $50,000/year (which it's not) and the COL and wage adjustments of Chicago was 50% above the national average (which it's not - I think it's more like 20-25% above), you'd still be $6000/year over that average clip.

[oakparkdude]

BTW, I don't think being middle class implies no sacrifices are necessary to maintain your standard of living. Being middle class is all about sacrifices and trade-offs. Being wealthy IMHO implies that you can get the "best" of everything without having to compromise.

[Chi-town Native]

Am I understanding the argument here, that 80K for a single guy in Chicago is "lower middle class"?

That is not only *not* lower middle class, that's upper middle class.

What defines the "middle" is dependent on the larger society, not one individual's comfort zones.