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The Drum Major Institute released a study titled "Saving Our Middle Class," which suggests that NYC's middle class continues to be under more and more strain. DMI surveyed a number of city leaders and found:
It's harder to enter the middle class: 92% "agree that it is harder to enter the middle class today than it was ten years ago."
- They believe middle-class income is now between $75,000 and $135,000 for families of four (it's between $45,000 and $90,000 for single individuals), while NYC median income is $49,374 a year.
- Essentials of middle-class standards of living include health insurance, owning a computer with internet access, holding a full-time job, and sending children to a quality public school.
- Only a third found that owning a house, condo or co-op is a middle-class essential.
- Affordable rent and health insurance are big challenges for the middle class
Baruch public-affairs professor Douglas Muzzio told the Sun the middle class "has to be" a major issue in the 2009 mayoral race.
Photograph by Santi-Jose on Flickr
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The question doesn't make sense as posted.
Put "not having a bathtub in your kitchen" on that list.
The question doesn't make any sense as posted . Try again please .
I've updated it to read "What's the biggest challenge to having a middle class existence in NYC?" - does that make sense?
The cost of living in NYC is crazy. For a "middle class" standard of living you have to be a lawyer or other professional making $150K+, which anywhere else would be a ridiculous amount of money. Or be so (chronically) poor that you qualify for Medicaid, Section 8 and food stamps. I'm moving upstate, and taking my (internet based) business with me.
why can't gothamist afford to hire a copy editor or proofreader? how hard would it be to send posts to someone to check for 10 seconds before they are put up?
That's like the Holy Grail of questions. We'll be pondering that for the umpteenth time.
I recently spent a weekend in Pittsburgh to see a couple of Penguins games. I checked the real estate listings and found 3- BR apartments selling for $59.9K. It's crazy in NYC.
The commute from Pittsburgh would kill me though.
About the question: I think the biggest challenge is simply wages that are out of sync with the economy. In order to live a truly middle-class life in NYC you do need to be making at least 75-100k a year, which in most cities means you are an executive manager at your company, if not the CEO (the obvious exceptions being specialized fields like attorneys, doctors, and jobs that give commissions, like sales, etc.). The big secret? The same holds true for New York as well! People act as though the average worker here is making around 70k when that is just not true. Most people you meet will be making around 40-50k, hardly enough to live a middle class life in New York.
That's right, all the daily $5 starbucks ($1,200 a year), $500 iPods, $1000 a year gym memberships you see people consuming are mostly being consumed by people who can't really afford such purchases and are "aspiring" towards a certain lifestyle. I've managed plenty of people, and without fail, most of the women working for me had more expensive tastes than me, despite the fact that they made salaries in the mid-30s, while I was bringing home six figures and cutting corners on various day-to-day expenses. Some of those women will go on to make a lot of money, but most will never get beyond 50-60k after several decades, so they are living on the edge--as are most people in New York who don't aggressively cut corners.
The disparity isn't as pronounced in other parts of the country because the cost of living (really, rent/mortgages) is so much lower, but in NYC, the disparity is a true reflection of what's going on in the U.S. when it comes to the economy. Unless a major disaster or something happens here in the next two decades, NYC is guaranteed to become a city of wealthy and poor and no in-between.
The city is just unaffordable for everyone except the transplants from affluent suburbs.
i don't drink $5 starbucks daily (or ever), do not own a $500 iPod, nor do i belong to a gym. i'm still struggling. almost 40% of my salary (after taxes) goes to my rent. isn't the national rule-of-thumb something like 25%? that extra 15% would make it easier to put money into the retirement fund, savings for a down payment, travel, ANYTHING but my apartment. i'm never there anyways since i'm working late, out trying to enjoy the "quality of life" this city affords me (pun not intended), or working at my second job!
I think the results of the poll posted, however unscientific, are telling. Over three quarters say affordable housing. Bingo. That is what you get when real estate and rent keeps increasing more than wages are increasing, year after year.
In 2003, the Census Bureau said median income was $46,000 in New York. Now its $49,000. Have housing costs increased just under 10% during the last three years? I don't think so.
Apparently, I have enough savings to pay for a 3 BR in Pittsburgh, but they are going to be destroyed if I live much longer in New York. My job is specialized and hard to find elsewhere, but unless the real estate bubble pops here in the next year, I'm looking to move upstate and to commute.
Granted, its odd to have the lower bounds of middle class defined as median income, I think DMI has a more European style definition of the term. But I really don't know how working class people manage in NYC. Are they all in public housing?
The cost of living in New York has gone in other areas than real estate. Ever notice that the standard tip is now 20% instead of 15%? That's inflation. Been in a cab lately or gone grocery shopping? How many Manhattan restaurants now have entrees under $10?
Even a gym membership now is semi-necessary. Because of the increased traffic and the slow moving foot traffic on the sidewalks, you really can't walk for exercise anymore. In the old days, New Yorkers got most of their execise by walking. And going to the gym does keep you out of the doctor's office, for many people without job-provided health insurance, they can afford the gym membership more than they can the insurance.
I think the answer is obvious, Ed. NYC comprises 5 boroughs, and the disparity between living in a place like, say, Jamaica, Queens versus West 72nd Street in Manhattan is about as varied as a taxi driver's take-home pay versus that of a seasoned analyst at Goldman Sachs.
The middle class can afford NYC, but it certainly cannot well afford Manhattan. And so, the issue really becomes a quality of life issue: how much time are you willing to spend in your daily commute to compensate for that extra 15, 20% in pay that you would have to forsake in a job market elsewhere (e.g. in CT, or a little bit upstate).
If you make around say, $30-40k, you don't qualify for any low-income services, you can't qualify for 'middle income' housing, but you can't quite afford market rate housing, either - even in many areas of the outer boroughs.
Also, I think it's a common misconception that people with moderate incomes can't save money because they are frittering it away on smaller purchases like lattes (if I see one more article on the 'latte factor' I will scream). It's the bigger, more fixed expenses that eat up the most of your income - rent, groceries, insurance, that sort of thing. There was even an article in the Wall St. Journal not too long ago about this premise.
Dealing with the cost of living in our country's current generation is vastly more difficult than in generations past. The rate at which the cost of necessities (rent, real estate, utilities, health insurance, college tuition) is increasing at a much faster rate than wages. In the case of NYC and even in the suburbs of NYC, the situation is even worse. Rent is to the point where you have to consider sharing studios, even if you're in the outer boroughs. Real estate and property taxes are forcing families out of the NYC suburbs. Health insurance costs have skyrocketed, and even if you're covered, insurance companies have become ever so vigilant in accepting claims. In the case of college tuition, NYC residents are fortunate that CUNY and SUNY remain relatively affordable, but god knows how long that will last. Any private university will result in hefty student loans.
It's not as simple as "if you can't afford it, leave!" It means having to uproot your family to live in another state, children being forced to decide between living and raising kids close to their own family or far away, and erasing diversity and personality from the city. What about teachers, firefighters, sanitation workers, and police officers? Where do they live and raise families?
I will never forgive Carrion for tearing down Mullaly Park. Of course, that's just me.
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Every time I read posts like this (and comment) on Gothamist, I move closer to the door. This time is not any different and I couldn't agree more with what some of the others have written above, specifically Ed and Amazing Jason. I can't add anything that hasn't already been written.
I have said it before and I'll say it again, I find it entirely depressing that you can make a decent amount of money in this city and still can't really afford to live here. Plus, saving? Are you kidding me? There is no way to live here, pay the extremely high taxes, pay rent, pay usual costs of living and still save money. Maybe a little bit here and there, but nothing close to the amount of a down payment.
The middle class is necessary everywhere. The middle class keeps the country and this city running. Without the middle class, this city is going to become more and more unlivable for the insanely rich AND the insanely poor.
Hey Roberto Valverde, go away.
I lived in NJ before I move to NY. The suburbs are not cheap either - cost of car and commute, high real estate taxes, need to come into the city (and time involved) for decent retaurants, socializing etc.
It's articles like this that make me want to move to Guatamala to earn $5 a day. I won't feel like going postal on a daily basis at least. Damn you New York!