Reply to Study shows that 350k/year is barely scrapping by as middle class

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Reply to "Study shows that 350k/year is barely scrapping by as middle class"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ok let's use logic here.

Take the average household income and house price  from 1985  in Fairfax or Montgomery county. Then take into account that the average job had a pension, so take that you need to save at least 15 percent of your income to retire at age 55. Also factor in that in order to get an average job you need to have a college degree which wasn't that case in 1985 and is a major cost.

What you end up with is that the cost of living that is very high because of no more pension, high housing and education costs. That's the reality of today and why people feel like they are worse off then their parents even though they appear to be earning a lot. Think about why there is so much outrage and why people want to make America great again , which probably can never happen again.
https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/retirement-calculator.aspx[/quote]

Here's the problem.  While Fairfax and Montgomery counties were middle class in 1985, they are not any more and have not been for 20 years.  In 1985, the population of the region was about 3M.  In 2018, the population was 6.22M, more than double.  And the housing stock has not doubled in that time.  The housing stock has gone up about 25-50%.  So you have double the number of people trying to fit into 1.5 the number of homes.

That means that those with more means will get the homes closer in.  Those with less means will have to move further out or into the less desirable areas.  The middle class now live in Reston, Oakton, Burke, Ft Washington, Clinton, Largo, Lanham, Greenbelt, Laurel, College Park, Beltsville.  To get bigger homes, they move to Centreville, Chantilly, Waldorf, Brandywine, Upper Marlboro, Bowie.

So, while it is true that you need to factor in retirement savings which is now self-funded through IRAs and 401Ks, you can't still use Fairfax County and Montgomery County as your standard for middle class because the middle class does not buy homes in those towns any more,.

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First off, there is a lot disparity in Montgomery county, likely Fairfax county too but I don’t know it as well. I don’t know how you could call the eastern part of MoCo UMC overall. Many schools have a large FARMs population.  Those receiving assistance do not have high incomes.

But your point about the housing shortage is valid and warps perceptions about what people think about class.  They think, if my $200k HHI is supposedly in the top 5% for the area, why doesn’t that get me into N. Arlington, Bethesda, Chevy Chase?  In many other cities being in the top 5% gets you a nice house in a neighborhood feeding into the highest performing schools.

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