NPR, October 1, 2019: What Does ‘Affordable’ Even Mean In The Washington Region?
Affordability is tough to measure accurately. The concept is relative. It’s deeply personal and it varies between states, towns, neighborhoods and households. It also relies on a number of factors: housing, transportation, child care and food, to name a few.
But no matter how you measure it, living here doesn’t come cheap.
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area is consistently ranked as one of the most well-off in the country, with median incomes above the national average, but the area’s staggering cost of living puts many things out of reach for locals.
To live modestly in D.C. itself, a family of four needs to make nearly $124,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Median household income is at a record high in the District, but it’s still nearly $40,000 less than that. And the suburbs are in a similar situation: A family of four needs to make about $91,000 in Prince George’s County, where the median income is below $80,000.
“Affordability has not been properly defined for the District of Columbia. Most ‘affordable’ housing is too expensive for low-waged workers,” says Jon Carrington, whose work in Ward 8 focuses on housing justice issues.
