4 ms·

Comparing minimum wage and median housing prices doesn't make sense. The author claims a person making $15/hour couldn't afford to live one San Jose given its $

Comparing minimum wage and median housing prices doesn't make sense. The author claims a person making $15/hour couldn't afford to live one San Jose given its $1000 median rent. The right comparison would be take a look at what percentage of people make that much money and whether there is enough housing for them.

smallnamespace 10y ago
What % of journalists possess basic statistical literacy and are willing + able to use it in their line of work? EDIT: The more competitive journalism becomes, the more it's a game of only writing what readers want to see. If readers don't have the sophistication to discern good data + interpretation from bad, then news orgs have no incentive to go the extra mile to get to the actual truth.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
11thEarlOfMar 10y ago
Median, 2-bedroom rent in San Jose is $2,289. That is $27,468 annually. $15/hour wages is $31,200 annually. After paying income taxes, there's nothing left. Even 2 minimum wage earners sharing a median priced one bedroom apartment would be hard pressed to also own cars and feed and insure themselves. http://www.zilpy.com/rentalmarket/San_Jose,_CA_metro http://www.zilpy.com/rentalmarket/San_Jose,_CA_metro
- r00fus 10y ago
  And by "own cars" you mean "have freedom of movement" as Silicon Valley (like most of the US) has incredibly poor public transport. And CA doesn't have $15/hr wages (yet). $15/hr is above minimum wage of $10.50. That's $21,840 annual gross. I guess you can afford to live here with a lower income if a) you room (or even share a room), b) you live with parents or c) you got section-8 or something a lot less than market rate rents.
  - erikpukinskis 10y ago
    You don't need to have a car to have freedom of movement. Maybe you're used to a car for comfortable movement. But there are bikes, there are busses. Sure Silicon Valley isn't the best, but if you don't have a car, you just live somewhere that's convenient to public transit. If you have a disability that prevents biking, etc, you should be able to get some level of assistance.
- morecoffee 10y ago
  Comparing median rent price to the lowest income earners is not relevant. Looking at the 1st percentile of rent prices would be appropriate.
  - matt4077 10y ago
    I just checked San Jose, with my theory that market prices are really compressed at the lower end so as to make the median a relevant figure even for low-income people. The cheapest I could find for a 2-bedroom is 1,800, which is not far of from the 2,280 median: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/San-Jose-CA/house,condo,apartment_duplex,mobile,townhouse_type/33839_rid/2-_beds/paymenta_sort/37.584037,-121.490593,37.009406,-122.14428_rect/10_zm/ http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/San-Jose-CA/house,condo...
- jessriedel 10y ago
  Why would folks making at or near the minimum wage live in median housing?
matt4077 10y ago
Isn't the variability of housing prices – especially on the lower end – rather small? Whenever I was looking, it seemed as if there was a sort of generally-agreed-upon price (per sqr ft), that was a hard lower bound, with significantly higher prices only for certain "special" features (seaside, top floor with roof access...)

smallnamespace 10y ago

What % of journalists possess basic statistical literacy and are willing + able to use it in their line of work? EDIT: The more competitive journalism becomes, the more it's a game of only writing what readers want to see. If readers don't have the sophistication to discern good data + interpretation from bad, then news orgs have no incentive to go the extra mile to get to the actual truth.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

11thEarlOfMar 10y ago

Median, 2-bedroom rent in San Jose is $2,289. That is $27,468 annually. $15/hour wages is $31,200 annually. After paying income taxes, there's nothing left. Even 2 minimum wage earners sharing a median priced one bedroom apartment would be hard pressed to also own cars and feed and insure themselves. http://www.zilpy.com/rentalmarket/San_Jose,_CA_metro http://www.zilpy.com/rentalmarket/San_Jose,_CA_metro

r00fus 10y ago
And by "own cars" you mean "have freedom of movement" as Silicon Valley (like most of the US) has incredibly poor public transport. And CA doesn't have $15/hr wages (yet). $15/hr is above minimum wage of $10.50. That's $21,840 annual gross. I guess you can afford to live here with a lower income if a) you room (or even share a room), b) you live with parents or c) you got section-8 or something a lot less than market rate rents.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  You don't need to have a car to have freedom of movement. Maybe you're used to a car for comfortable movement. But there are bikes, there are busses. Sure Silicon Valley isn't the best, but if you don't have a car, you just live somewhere that's convenient to public transit. If you have a disability that prevents biking, etc, you should be able to get some level of assistance.
morecoffee 10y ago
Comparing median rent price to the lowest income earners is not relevant. Looking at the 1st percentile of rent prices would be appropriate.
- matt4077 10y ago
  I just checked San Jose, with my theory that market prices are really compressed at the lower end so as to make the median a relevant figure even for low-income people. The cheapest I could find for a 2-bedroom is 1,800, which is not far of from the 2,280 median: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/San-Jose-CA/house,condo,apartment_duplex,mobile,townhouse_type/33839_rid/2-_beds/paymenta_sort/37.584037,-121.490593,37.009406,-122.14428_rect/10_zm/ http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/San-Jose-CA/house,condo...
jessriedel 10y ago
Why would folks making at or near the minimum wage live in median housing?

matt4077 10y ago

Isn't the variability of housing prices – especially on the lower end – rather small? Whenever I was looking, it seemed as if there was a sort of generally-agreed-upon price (per sqr ft), that was a hard lower bound, with significantly higher prices only for certain "special" features (seaside, top floor with roof access...)