San Francisco households must earn $127,000 simply to make ends meet, examine finds
According to a new study, 25 percent of San Franciscos don’t earn enough income to meet their basic needs.
United Ways of California published the study, which examines a factor called the Real Cost Measure, which estimates the amount of income it takes to make ends meet in California.
In California generally, nearly one in three people is struggling to meet daily needs, the study found, with black and Hispanic households being disproportionately affected. That’s 3.5 million families — 2.5 times the number of Californians who fall below the poverty line by federal government standards. Basic needs include rent, transportation and health care, among others.
Of these 3.5 million households, 97% have at least one working adult. More than half of these households have children under the age of 6.
The situation in San Francisco is similarly dire. The study found that 76,737 households are below real cost measure, 98% of which have at least one working adult. An urban family of four (two adults, one toddler, one school-age child) would need to hold more than three full-time, minimum-wage jobs just to achieve economic stability, the study found. It has been estimated that a family of four would need to earn $127,332 each year just to meet basic needs.
It’s no secret where most of San Francisco residents’ income goes: 28% of all households in the county spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Transportation, taxes, and food were also high costs for the region.
The study further breaks things down by neighborhood. In the historically black neighborhoods of Hunters Point and Bayview, 47% of households live below real cost. This compares to 18% in the Inner Mission and Castro neighborhoods.
“This study shows that many more working families in California are struggling to meet the cost of living than is officially estimated, and identifies significant gaps between what it costs families and their children to live with dignity and what it costs.” they actually deserve,” Peter Manzo, president and CEO of United Ways of California, said in a statement.
“This new perspective should be the yardstick by which we set our priorities, and the study is a wake-up call for local community partners, civic leaders, the business sector and elected officials that so much more needs to be done to help families not only survive, but actually thrive.”
