The findings show that while renting a one-bedroom apartment is within reach for new teachers working in most districts, in about a quarter of the districts, it is not. Home ownership is even more difficult. In some districts, saving up for the recommended down payment of 20 percent or meeting mortgage obligations is beyond a teacher’s means, even for a teacher who is at the higher end of the salary schedule. That problem is particularly acute in school districts located in the West and Northeast...Until I'd read this press release I don't think I'd ever heard of West Ada, Idaho.
Key findings of the Trendline analysis include:
- In one out of four of the largest school districts in the U.S., a starting teacher cannot afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment.
- While the average length of time needed to accumulate a down payment of 20 percent towards a median-price home is ten years, assuming a 10 percent savings rate, there is tremendous variation. Texas is notably affordable with seven of its large districts--San Antonio, Aldine, Brownsville, Fort Worth, Pasadena, Dallas, and Arlington--enabling a teacher to achieve a down payment on a median-priced home in five years or less.
- At the other end of the spectrum are teachers in San Francisco, Capistrano (CA), Oakland, Fairfax County (VA), and Hawaii, where it would take teachers over 20 years to save a comparable down payment.
- Only in a minority of districts are monthly housing payments affordable, with San Antonio, Baltimore City, and Philadelphia being the most affordable for teachers.
- A number of districts, such as Oklahoma City, Polk County (FL), El Paso, and Omaha, are in the lowest quartile for monthly housing costs but have kept teacher salaries so low that homeownership is still a struggle for their teachers.
- There are eight districts--West Ada (ID), Jordan (UT), Loudoun County (VA), Hawaii, San Francisco, Oakland, Capistrano (CA), and Los Angeles--where a single teacher will never be able to dedicate the recommended 30 percent or less of a salary to monthly housing payments, even when earning the maximum possible teacher salary.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Can Teachers Afford To Buy Houses?
From a press release from the National Council on Teacher Quality:
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3 comments:
I have a relative who lives near Meridian, Idaho, part of the West Ada district. Meridian is an upscale, newly plotted suburb of Boise, with an accompanying real estate price bubble. It used to be rural, but it looks like the teachers' salaries haven't kept up with the cost of living in the area. I'd be curious to know how many teachers in that area actually live there, or if they come in from other nearby suburbs.
I work with some single parents who literally broke down sobbing when they had to decide how to cover their children with insurance. Most do without dental or vision care. Many can barely afford rent or a newish car. Add to that the inordinate amount of taxes and forced insurance---it's a nightmare.
The same goes for many towns in NJ and the NYC metro area. 10 years ago, I was living in a basement apartment because I couldn't afford to pay rent on a standard, traditional 1 bedroom apartment for $1100 on my $50K teacher salary. It's worse now. The Phoenix, AZ metro area is the same... rent has skyrocketed but teacher wages are the lowest in the nation. Step 1 B.A. starts at $38K. PhD with 10 years is around $48000. Rent is around $1000 / month for a decent apartment.
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