South Bay's Cost of Living Is Outpacing Wages, Still

It’s no secret that living in Santa Clara County is expensive, but the gap between income and housing costs just keeps growing. Over the past decade, median income has risen about 75%, but the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment has jumped nearly 90%. Which is a bummer! Right now, a household needs to make around $125K a year to afford a typical two-bedroom rental—but about a third of county households earn less than $100K, making housing affordability a real life challenge.

Each year, the government calculates income limits for affordable housing programs, and for 2024, the median income for a family of four in Santa Clara County is $184,300. “Low income” is considered 80% of that—$146,100—which shows just how high the bar has been set. While incomes have increased, it hasn’t been enough for many lower-earning households to keep up.

Housing experts say one of the biggest issues is zoning. Right now, San Jose doesn’t allow for much mid-density housing—like small apartment buildings or townhomes—so developers are often forced to build expensive high-density projects. And at the same time, many people in those proposed mid-density housing areas would rather their neighborhoods stay the way they are now.

At the end of the day, the cost of living crisis isn’t going away on its own. Without policy changes, the wealth gap in Silicon Valley is expected to keep growing. Which makes sense, there's just so many high-earning jobs here with the big tech sector. It's something I personally think about a lot and honestly I don't see any logical resolutions, would love to hear your opinion on it!