middle class in long island?? (Rockville Centre, Garden City: homes, schools, salaries)
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tlinenbroker, in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:
What people refer to colloquially as "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "towns", then, many times, the error is compounded when actual towns are referred to as "townships".
Also, many colloquially refer to a "downtown business district" in a hamlet as a "village".
You can get a fact sheet for any city, village or hamlet on Long Island by going here American FactFinder and input the name of the city, village or hamlet for "city/town" (leave out the ZIP Code) and New York for "State", and then click "GO".
You'll get a lot of demographic, and some economic, statistics for the city, village or hamlet you selected, and if you click on "Reference map" (it's on the right hand side), you'll get a map.
When you do find a house that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP or Census Designated Place is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.)
And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.
I've looked at scores like this from around the country from time to time and I always pretty much add at least 50% to the figures. I live in Garden City and I can assure you there aren't many people here who make less than that median income. When the cheapest house is $650K and the cheapest taxes are $15K a year, it really makes you wonder who's answering these questions, and how they are formatted. For instance, in most surveys, the uppermost category when you are asked for a salary is "$100,000 and up".
Where i got this info on city-data.com it also listed 2000 median income. If you take 2000 median income and compared it to 2000 home prices i'd bet the ratios are correct when it comes income/housing price ratios, now they are out of whack, the house still costs too much.
Where i got this info on city-data.com it also listed 2000 median income. If you take 2000 median income and compared it to 2000 home prices i'd bet the ratios are correct when it comes income/housing price ratios, now they are out of whack, the house still costs too much.
On neighborhood link . com it lists the median income in GC as $97K and the median home price as $419K.
You haven't been able to get a house in GC for that price in at least 5 years. I really don't put any stock into those medians either....for all we know that income is skewed by senior citizens who live off of pensions and social security; there are a lot of seniors here in GC...my neighbor across the street has lived here since the 50s, and I'm sure his income doesn't approach $90K as he's over 90 years old.
Point being, those numbers are essentially meaningless, people know how much money it takes to live here and have answered accordingly. You can certainly live here for less than $100K but it's not going to be a whole lot of fun.
Seniors do skew the median. Their home is paid off, so the only thing they pay are utilities and taxes ( should total about 25k a year). If you are a retired teacher from a good school district, your pension and social security could cover these quite comfortably.
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The income statistics average together those who have owned a house for, say twenty years, and those who bought a house within the last 5 years, and therefore underestimate the income needed to currently buy a house in that city, village or hamlet..
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I agree with Walter. In the past people got a home for a reasonable price on only ONE (one spouse not working) typical working or lower middle class income in the past. Now that is not possible. It is hard for a solidly middle class two-income family to purchase their first home.
You need to figure out what it will take for you to be middle class.
So you need to figure out what your housing situation is going to be here. Will you be satisfied with renting an apartment? Do you have a home to sell at your current location that is mostly paid off so you will have a very large downpayment for a house here? Or do you want to own a home here but really don't have a lot of money saved (when I say a lot of money I am meaning 6 figures)?
Good luck and it's nice to see someone interested in moving to LI rather than moving away!
The fact is that the Suffolk county cops are making a middle class income for the Island, others aren't.
Long Island is way out of wack for what should be middle class (lower, middle and upper). The middle class, or what's left of it, isn't getting the bang for their buck that they would elsewhere. My friends on the Island who make the same as we do aren't as well off. Mostly because the money they take home after taxes is less than our take home and the left over goes into the expensive little Cape Code they bought, heating, electricity, etc.
The fact is that the Suffolk county cops are making a middle class income for the Island, others aren't.
Long Island is way out of wack for what should be middle class (lower, middle and upper). The middle class, or what's left of it, isn't getting the bang for their buck that they would elsewhere. My friends on the Island who make the same as we do aren't as well off. Mostly because the money they take home after taxes is less than our take home and the left over goes into the expensive little Cape Code they bought, heating, electricity, etc.
Yes they are. And people get angry paying sky high taxes on top of their other exorbitant living expenses supporting civil servants in the manner to which they cannot support themselves. Yes, LI is certainly out of whack in that respect!
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