The concern of young people being able to afford a home in America in the 21st century is one of many. As inflation rises in America and access to resources dwindles, many have worries about what their future has in store.
The housing crisis is mainly based on two things, income and housing prices, which is simply the price for a house or a home. Income is the amount one earns, usually in a month or year.
The minimum wage in America has remained at an average of $7.25 per hour according to the official United States Government website, adding up to around $15,000 a year. The minimum wage in Washington, however, is $15.74, but will increase to $16.28 per hour on Jan 1, 2024, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.
The median home price in the state of Washington was $647,900 in 2022 – a 174% increase from 2012.
“I think we need to figure out how to lower the prices because that is absolutely ridiculous,” sophomore Willow Killpack said. “That is definitely a terrifying thought, especially considering my job might be something very hit and miss – an author.”
It is important to note the average housing price in America when looking at the average income. The average cost of living in the U.S. could be anywhere from $2,500 to $6,000 a month, according to a report done by Edvoy and the Motley Fool. This means the average annual cost of owning a home in America could be $30,000 to $73,000, not including a mortgage according to the Motley Fool. The average American annual income is $55,000.
Housing has been a remaining concern for many Americans around the nation.
“Well, I think it is a little scary knowing that I will eventually have to grow up into that,” sophomore Jason Perkins shared. An average of 46% of Americans classify as “lower” or “working” class, according to the Center for American Progress. The rest of the population (54%) remains in the “middle”, “upper-middle” or “upper” class.
“It sounds like people aren’t being paid enough to live, really. Which is a very sad concept,” Perkins stated. “I do have some worries if nothing is done about this and it continues on the course that it’s going… it’s be unlivable.”
Take a teacher’s salary for instance, an average teacher’s income in America is $61,000 a year, meaning they are earning around $5,000 a month. As reported before, the average cost of housing monthly in the U.S. is anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000, meaning if they are lucky, they will only have around $3,000 left for groceries, personal insurance, healthcare, car expenses, childcare, utilities, education, as well as personal expenses. This does not include other necessities such as clothing or entertainment.
“Well, my wife and I, fortunately, in 2002, bought one of the very last houses in Ballard that teachers could afford. So we’re okay but, I know people coming into education would be incredibly stretched in order to afford a house in the Puget Sound region,” Assistant Principal Dan Falk said. “I don’t know how they would do that. I don’t see it getting any better in the Seattle area. Seattle tends to follow San Francisco, and San Francisco certainly hasn’t gotten more affordable, so I don’t see the Puget Sound region getting more affordable.”
The average cost of living in Washington is 16% more than the national average, with housing being 28% more than the national average, according to a report done by RentCafe.
“We remain one of the most desirable regions in the country. We remain a tech hub and a hub of industries where there are a large number of people, not the majority, but enough people making a great deal of money to afford expensive houses,” Falk said, “A high percentage of the houses being sold are going to cash offers, people coming to the table with millions of dollars to buy a house, they’re going to continue to drive up the market and it’s going to continue to make our housing very expensive.”
When looking at Washington, the average monthly salary for teachers is $3,500, $42,000 to $60,000 a year. In Snohomish County, the average monthly cost of housing is around $2,700 according to MYNorthwest. This does not include, as mentioned before, groceries, other necessities, utilities and health insurance.
“As a regular person, my opinions are I think the government needs to step in and start creating more affordable housing,” English and social studies teacher Christina Lewis said. “As a teacher, I think that we can do more to help students find the housing and have resources within the school district for students and their families to find housing that’s affordable.”
“I absolutely have worries for students. In fact, some of the issues right now that I am seeing with buying a house, I feel like buying a house is overrated at this point. I am a homeowner, and let me tell you, it’s terrible,” Lewis said.
The majority of lower-class jobs cannot support the cost of living nowadays. In a recent survey of state residents, 50% of people said that they have around $250 left each month for personal expenses.
“I would much rather be renting because so many more things would be provided for me, especially with maintenance,” Lewis said. “And so that’s one of the issues is that I think in the future a lot of students, when they grow up they’re probably not going to want to buy a house anymore. And so then the housing market is going to crash. Then what’s going to happen is that I’m afraid that the rent for apartments is going to skyrocket, and that’s going to be a really big problem and it worries me.”
