
What you’d need to make in every county in the US to afford a decent one-bedroom - Libertatea
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/22/what-youd-need-to-make-in-every-county-in-america-to-afford-a-decent-one-bedroom/
======
adolph
I think this is an excellent example of a bad chart. The premise seems to be
an illustration the geographical differences in income needed to obtain
housing. However, the arbitrary coloring choices makes a $13 county (example
Dallas County, TX) look the same as a $20 county (example LA Country, CA). The
difference $7/hour is almost the same as the minimum wage in Dallas--that's a
significant amount that the map disguises.

Speaking of minimum wages, what's up with the five Washington and 3 Oregon
counties with minimum wages above the "what you's need to make" mark?

Columbia County Pend Oreille County Stevens County Wahkiakum County Lincoln
County Harney County Morrow County Wheeler County

~~~
saraid216
> The difference $7/hour is almost the same as the minimum wage in Dallas--
> that's a significant amount that the map disguises.

Agreed, but I'm not sure that makes it a bad chart. To me, one of the things
the chart is saying is that 1BDR housing wages outside of the $10-13 range are
uninteresting.

If this is something they checked and know to be true, then deliberately
zooming in on that range is useful, because it highlights that variance. If
they're hiding relevant information by ignoring things outside of that range,
then it's a problem.

I mean, it's a choropleth. That already starts edging into "bad chart"
territory.

------
dm2
This PDF is what the map is based on and has some additional data:
[http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2014OOR.pdf](http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2014OOR.pdf)

Also: [http://nlihc.org/oor/2014](http://nlihc.org/oor/2014)

~~~
saraid216
While that is good to have, a glance through the PDF actually says this data
is different.

Namely, the PDF indicates 2-bedroom whereas the WaPo article indicates
1-bedroom. I should probably do a number-comparison on a per-county basis to
see if the WaPo writers simply made a mistake, but I'm feeling pretty lazy.

~~~
dm2
They probably just downloaded the states individually
([http://nlihc.org/oor/2014/NY](http://nlihc.org/oor/2014/NY)) to get the 1
bedroom numbers.

~~~
saraid216
And to clarify, you have to pull the XLS in order to get the 1BDR numbers. The
PDF is _still_ just 2BDR.

But yes. dm2 is correct. This is probably the link that should have been
shared to start: [http://nlihc.org/oor/2014](http://nlihc.org/oor/2014)

------
danielweber
When I hear words like "decent" I check for my wallet. When I was at a start-
up making very below-average wages (in the Boston area, in fact), I lived in a
very below-average place.

~~~
adregan
Yes, but you had the expectation that things would get better (and I'm
assuming you had the skills to make much more).

My friends who aren't involved in the tech industry have quite a long row to
hoe when it comes to making more money. I had a friend (who loves cooking and
is accomplished in restaurant work) struggle to find anything above $13-15 an
hour in NYC (and that's hard work at a busy restaurant), and it doesn't often
get better than that.

For some, living in below average accommodations isn't a necessary stop along
the way but the destination, and that stinks.

~~~
qq66
50% of people live in below-average accommodations.

~~~
habitue
No, 50% of people live in below-median accommodations.

------
thyroxo
Hmmm, I'm not sure if I'm understanding the methodology... am I missing
something?

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the
1-bedroom rent+utilities cost (or FMR) is $750 for Schenectady County, NY. [1]

At minimum wage, and 40 hours each week, you make $7.25 _40_ 4 = $1160 each
month.

How is $1160 < $750?

[1]:
[http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2014_code/...](http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2014_code/2014summary.odn)

~~~
abshack
$750/$1160 is ~64%. The common definition for affordable rent is ~30% of
monthly wage[1] (based on some quick google-fu).

[1] [http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-
topics/files/...](http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-
topics/files/who-can-afford.pdf)

~~~
mhurron
The lower your income, the higher percentage of it will go to housing unless
you are prepared to live in a dank, urine-soaked hellhole.

~~~
extra88
Or have (more) roommates. Three people together can get a 2-3 bedroom
apartment that's better than the 1 bedroom apartments they can get
individually.

------
superbaconman
My dad just bought a down town storefront with a killer apt above for 25k. I
can't believe that telecommuting programmers aren't owning small towns all
throughout America.

~~~
rybosome
There's a lot more that goes into enjoying one's surroundings than just the
price paid to own a home there. For those who enjoy small towns, you're
absolutely right; what an amazing opportunity.

------
robbs
The wage data that drives the document is here:
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/special/national/county...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/special/national/county-rental-wages/data/rentals.csv)

------
njharman
What's up with expensive counties in north central N. Dakota?

~~~
falcolas
Oil boom. All the various workers are making triple digit salaries, and like
any good boom, people offering food and housing are adjusting their prices
upwards to match.

------
nextw33k
Is it an Americanism to use the word every in this fashion?

I looked at the title and wondered why you would want the sum total of all the
housing costs. I would rather know what each county's costs are. Clicking on
the link it is each, however given the prestige of the website made me wonder
if this is another subtle example of British verses American usage?

~~~
randallsquared
As an American, it does seem like a slightly ambiguous or odd usage.

------
nutjob123
I don't see manhattan in the list. Average here is around 2500 for a 1br, I
thought that was high.

~~~
rayiner
Manhattan is New York County, $23.37.

~~~
flanbiscuit
Brooklyn is the same however I'd like to see this broken down further by
neighborhoods of Brooklyn (or all boroughs) because prices can vary
significantly by neighborhood

~~~
potatolicious
There are a couple of real estate firms that do regular reporting on pricing
trends:

[http://www.mns.com/pdf/manhattan_market_report_mar_14.pdf](http://www.mns.com/pdf/manhattan_market_report_mar_14.pdf)

[http://www.mns.com/pdf/brooklyn_market_report_mar_14.pdf](http://www.mns.com/pdf/brooklyn_market_report_mar_14.pdf)

------
SlipperySlope
Texas, where I live, is notable in the map for the diversity of costs, in
particular the frequent juxtaposition of the highest and lowest cost counties.

The rich live in cities, and landlords set rents according to the ability to
pay.

