Silicon Valley residents are making more money over the past decade, but those gains have been far outpaced by the rising cost of housing and other living expenses.
While the area’s median income has gone up nearly 75 percent over the past 10 years, the price of a two-bedroom apartment has risen about 90 percent during the same period.
San Jose Spotlight reports a household needs an annual income of about $125,000 to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Santa Clara County. That’s based on the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2024 Out of Reach report. About a third of county households have an annual income of less than $100,000 and wouldn't be able to afford a fair market two-bedroom apartment.
Scott Myers-Lipton, San Jose State University sociology professor emeritus, said the San Jose City Council needs to increase the city's minimum wage and change zoning laws to allow for more medium density affordable housing.
Without policy changes, Myers-Lipton told the Spotlight the region's steep wealth divide will continue to grow.
