Real estate data firm ATTOM released its 2nd quarter Home Affordability Report this month, which provides an analysis of home affordability around the nation. The good news is that Washtenaw County was not the least affordable county in Michigan this spring. The bad news is that WashCo residents spend more than 40% of their income on housing costs for “median-priced” homes. Also in the “bad news” category is the fact that nationwide, people now spend an average of 35% of their income on housing.
The traditional rule-of-thumb threshold for housing expenses is 28%. Spending beyond that amount makes less money available for other necessities, like food, healthcare, personal savings, and transportation. Nationally, people pay nearly 25% more for housing than they should, but since Washtenaw County is terminally “extra”, residents here pay 43% more of their income on housing costs than the recommended maximum.
The takeaway is that Washtenaw County is an expensive place to live – starting with housing. (Everything else is expensive, too.) As I have written before, Washtenaw County is 20% more expensive than the average Michigan county. If you’re going to live here, you’re either going to pony up, or you’d better have a deep, abiding love for ramen noodles.
The “Washtenaw County premium” is why WCC needs to do a much better job of developing academic programs that enable people to earn enough to both work and live here. So far, that hasn’t happened, and people should be asking questions about it. Collectively, we will send about $75M to WCC this year in the form of property taxes. Additionally, the Board recently voted to raise tuition by $4 per hour, and last year, they larded on extra per-credit-hour fees. The results of this investment? No improvements in graduation rate or post-graduation earnings.
Yet.
WCC students need Washtenaw County housing allowance
So, WCC students can’t earn enough to live here, but last year, the WCC President negotiated an extra $15,000 housing allowance on top of the $10,000 housing allowance she had previously received, presumably because housing is so expensive in Washtenaw County.
The Board gladly forked over this 150% increase in her housing allowance as a general acknowledgement by both the President and the Board of Trustees that living in Washtenaw County is hella expensive.
Everyone sees the expense of living in Washtenaw County when it comes to the President (who gets paid nearly $400,000 per year), but exactly no one thinks it’s a priority to increase the earning potential of a WCC degree enough to allow someone who has one to live here.
Got it.
Photo Credit: Dennis Sparks , via Flickr
