Toyota Employees- How is Texas? (Dallas, Plano: house, to buy, median income)

[Austinite76]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

Excellent post. That is the reality for many North Texans. All the Californians flocking to North Texas keep bragging about how their quality of life has improved while most of those of us who were already here are lamenting how unliveable and unaffordable it has become since the flood of big companies and inflated salaried transplants from Califronia has hit North Texas.

No such thing as an inflated salary. There's a prevailing wage.

[Backliteyes]

Originally Posted by Austinite76

No such thing as an inflated salary. There's a prevailing wage.

But the prevailing wage in CA areas where people are moving from for these types of jobs is noticeably higher than the prevailing wage in TX for the same type of job. So from a Texan's point of view, it seems like Californian's are moving in with very high salaries and lots of money from selling a home in CA and contributing to house price appreciation here.

I know a guy that works in TI that said the resources TI moved from CA did not have their salaries reduced from the CA level. He speculated (or knows, not sure) that they would simply get minimal or no salary increases until their salaries leveled out with what a comparable TX salary would be for the position.

I have no idea if Toyota and other companies approached it the same way but if they did that would support the idea that Californians that are job-relocated here are getting the benefit of moving in with a salary advantage over locals.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Per the CPI inflation calculator, your house has barely beat inflation as $175 in 1992 would be $310 today. And that's after a basically huge run-up since 2007 and the city growing at a pretty healthy pace that entire time.

Yeah, per the rule of 72's, a doubling in 25 years means a return just under 3%. That's hardly some wild and crazy rate of appreciation. As you note, it only marginally beats inflation during a period characterized for the most part by the lowest inflation rates since Eisenhower was president.

Although home prices have certainly spiked the last few years, over the prior 20+ it's been a very slow increase overall.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Backliteyes

But the prevailing wage in CA areas where people are moving from for these types of jobs is noticeably higher than the prevailing wage in TX for the same type of job. So from a Texan's point of view, it seems like Californian's are moving in with very high salaries and lots of money from selling a home in CA and contributing to house price appreciation here.

I know a guy that works in TI that said the resources TI moved from CA did not have their salaries reduced from the CA level. He speculated (or knows, not sure) that they would simply get minimal or no salary increases until their salaries leveled out with what a comparable TX salary would be for the position.

I have no idea if Toyota and other companies approached it the same way but if they did that would support the idea that Californians that are job-relocated here are getting the benefit of moving in with a salary advantage over locals.

Not necessarily true. The median job at Toyota HQ here pays right around $100-110k (including benefits) which is exactly in line with the median wages at the other national HQ's located in the Legacy corridor.

[Gravy Train]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Not necessarily true. The median job at Toyota HQ here pays right around $100-110k (including benefits) which is exactly in line with the median wages at the other national HQ's located in the Legacy corridor.

Is that the same figure they were earning in Torrance, Erlanger and NY?

Better question, what did the typical relocation package look like for non-executives?

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Backliteyes

But the prevailing wage in CA areas where people are moving from for these types of jobs is noticeably higher than the prevailing wage in TX for the same type of job. So from a Texan's point of view, it seems like Californian's are moving in with very high salaries and lots of money from selling a home in CA and contributing to house price appreciation here.

I know a guy that works in TI that said the resources TI moved from CA did not have their salaries reduced from the CA level. He speculated (or knows, not sure) that they would simply get minimal or no salary increases until their salaries leveled out with what a comparable TX salary would be for the position.

I have no idea if Toyota and other companies approached it the same way but if they did that would support the idea that Californians that are job-relocated here are getting the benefit of moving in with a salary advantage over locals.

Across large numbers that's just not right. Purchasing power adjusted wages at median income are ~20% higher in Texas than CA.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Yeah...prevailing wages are not any high in LA outside the film industry for people in higher ups.

Compare Torrance and Plano:

Average Salary in Torrance: $50,772
Average Salary in Plano: $60,573

Compare Dallas and Los Angeles:

Average Salary in Dallas: $59,733
Average Salary in Los Angeles: $62,152

PayScale - Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages

So the argument being made is absolutely ridiculous. People buy houses by saving longer not because they are paid more in Southern California.

[Backliteyes]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Across large numbers that's just not right. Purchasing power adjusted wages at median income are ~20% higher in Texas than CA.

Is that because salaries are higher in Texas, cost of living is lower, or both? I was working off the assumption that overall cost of living was lower, which makes me assume that salaries should also be somewhat lower in Texas. No doubt, I didn't look it up - ideally we'd be able to look just at the salaries of the jobs relocated from there to here.

Originally Posted by Cowboys fan in Houston

Yeah...prevailing wages are not any high in LA outside the film industry for people in higher ups.

Compare Torrance and Plano:

Average Salary in Torrance: $50,772
Average Salary in Plano: $60,573

Compare Dallas and Los Angeles:

Average Salary in Dallas: $59,733
Average Salary in Los Angeles: $62,152

PayScale - Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages

So the argument being made is absolutely ridiculous. People buy houses by saving longer not because they are paid more in Southern California.

I don't know what "higher ups" means exactly, and I'm not too sure it has much to do with the average salary of either place. But, given that we don't have access to the salaries of the relocated jobs I'm definitely just speculating based on it not making sense for anyone to live anywhere in CA with higher cost of living if they're not making more there to at least partially off-set it.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Gravy Train

Is that the same figure they were earning in Torrance, Erlanger and NY?

Better question, what did the typical relocation package look like for non-executives?

Toyota had such a high % of people accept the relo offers that I can't imagine anyone took a paycut to move here. I'm just going off what has been published in the DMN and DBJ about median salaries and comparing it to my extensive knowledge of several of the Legacy corridor HQ payscales.

I don't know what specifically the relo package included but from what I've gathered on here, included at least one paid for trip to check out the DFW/ Plano area, assigned relocation realtors, short term housing for some of the early employees who relocated in prior years, and the general cross country pack & move services a major HQ relo tends to offer.

[kyam11]

Originally Posted by townshend

A recent Dallas Morning News "business section" lamented that housing market "started" at $350,000 (I think this was for true for the broader Dallas area?) Our 2-story brick house was purchased for 175,000 in 1992, and according to Collin County appraisal district, is now worth 350,000. Many apartments have high rents. You may think rising home prices are great, but TX has the 7th highest property taxes among the 50 states. Don't look at absence of state income tax, look at the total tax burden in any given state. TX isn't horrible, but it is no longer the bargain it once was.

While not your fault this is very misleading. While TX might be considered to have the 7th highest property tax and if you compare $350,000 in Collin County to $350,000 in CA, TX runs much higher, it is not a good comparison. Your $350,000 house in a like type city in CA would run you $1.5M or more. This means that in Collin County you probably pay $8000-$9000 but in CA you would pay over $16,000. I always tell anyone compare what you would actually live in when looking at TX vs CA. It is an extreme bargain still. Next go look at the top 20 populous cities in America (meaning that is where the jobs will be) and then compare how much a similar house in a similar type city runs you as far as property taxes go and if you remove the TX and Southern cities (Atlanta) it is a real bargain in Dallas.