You are assuming that people can increase thier income by working more hours. Most salaried employees can’t do so at all and hourly employees don’t often get ov

You are assuming that people can increase thier income by working more hours. Most salaried employees can’t do so at all and hourly employees don’t often get overtime hours. It’s quite possible that commuting really is the only way to “earn” the bigger house. Regardless, there are other factors at play. A big one is that the amenities you want aren’t near your work place at any price point- see all those people who commute from SF to Mountain View. Another is that your job changed but you don’t want to move- I once rented a place near the downtown core thinking I’d always be close to work, and then somehow ended up with 45 minute commute to a satellite location. Once someone buys a place, get settled, and kids start school it gets a hard to move your residence as well.