Possible Financial Ego Boost: ePodunk

[tinapbeana]

Do you feel you are financially ahead of the game for your city, or does it seem like you're playing catch-up? When we set such frugal goals for ourselves, I think it's easy to feel like we're not doing enough. Post your perceptions, and then try looking up your town on ePodunk. The results page for your town will have the median household income on the first page or so, and I think you might be suprised where you land in comparison. About halfway down the page is a link to housing statistics from the last census, which gives details like # of units, rooms, and averaeg monthly cost with and without a mortgage.

Here's mine:

I guessed our mortgage cost was a little below normal because we really did get a good deal on the house (interest rate aside =/ )
I also thought DH and I would have a combined income somewhat above normal

Here's what I found:

My monthly housing cost is almost HALF of what is normal for a mortgaged home in this area, and the median asking prices when selling are 50% more than what we owe. WOOOHOOOO, frugality pays off!!!

Over 16% of the single family homes in my area have a 2nd on the house.

Combined, DH & I make more than double the median household income for our area. Holy cow...

Basically, a lot of people in my area are living on half the money and paying twice the bills. Puts things in a new perspective for me, and makes me realize that I am in fact making some sound decisions when it comes to my money.

[Ima saver]

Well the medium income for my town is only $14,000 so we make triple that. I have no mortgage so i can't compare there. I did not find what houses are selling for, but around here land is sky high!

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I did not find what houses are selling for, but around here land is sky high!

If you're interested and would like to know, I can look it up and send you the link.

[Elgin526]

I don't think the numbers are accurate, a lot of the date is from the 2000 census, and real estate especially has really changed. But it's still interesting to see where you compare to the rest of your town.

[disneysteve]

I'm sure my housing costs are below average as we've lived here for over 12 years. And I'm positive our income is above median because I already know that data. I'll check the site and see what it says, though.

ETA:
Median income: $69,421. We are well above that.
Median monthly home cost with mortgage: $1,568. We are about 20% below that.

So pretty much as I thought.

[Ima saver]

Yes tina, I would like to know. I live in blairsville, Ga. Maybe Union county, Ga. would be better, because Blairsville only has a population of 500, but the county has a population of close to 19,000. I did notice that the figures were taken from the 2000 census.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Yes tina, I would like to know. I live in blairsville, Ga. Maybe Union county, Ga. would be better, because Blairsville only has a population of 500, but the county has a population of close to 19,000. I did notice that the figures were taken from the 2000 census.

Holy smackaroos, there, Ima!

Here's your info

The owner-occupied housing is at the bottom half of the page...

[PauletteGoddard]

Do you feel you are financially ahead of the game for your city, or does it seem like you're playing catch-up? When we set such frugal goals for ourselves, I think it's easy to feel like we're not doing enough. Post your perceptions, and then try looking up your town on ePodunk.

How about feeling left behind? The only reason it seems we're getting anywhere is because of the big house appreciation and the hefty 401(k) match. You can't see that in our quality of clothes or lawncare or brand of vehicles.

My perceptions are always good for a laugh, Americans tell me, so here goes:

Median income in my area: $71,000
One car per licensed driver
0.27 televisions for every room in a residence
Net worth: $862,344
Median house value: $420,000

ePodunk:
Median income for 2000: $45,736

Point2.com:
Median income for 2005: $46,416
Average Household net worth: $128,182
Median Household net worth: $37,999
Average Home Sale Price: $363,412 (hey this is old data! 2004?)

Oddly enough, in point2.com's Lifestyle table, my zipcode is ever so slightly below average for expenditures across the board: contributions, insurance, clothing, education, entertainment, food, health care, furnishings, shelter, household operations, reading, gifts, transportation, utilities.

Median Total Debts: $28,327 (probably not counting mortgages)

Monthly costs for units with a mortgage: $1514 (2000)

[Ima saver]

Somehow I missed all of that!

[Gruntina]

The info was in 2000 so everything skyrocketed in my location of Sunnyvale, CA. Back in 2000 the median income was in the 80K but yet the median home was a whopping 385K. go figure with that income. Now I believe the median home is 800K. Not sure about income.

My income is not too shabby but still I don't want to buy a home here and be in a debt trap.

[ChimbleySweep]

Well, it makes me feel a lot better! We make about $7000 over the median family income for my town and we paid the average price for our home, which I thought was a very good deal!

[PRICEPLUS]

Median Income here is 92000 and a bit. Housing is overpriced and forget about the taxes!

[Gruntina]

Originally Posted by PRICEPLUS

Median Income here is 92000 and a bit. Housing is overpriced and forget about the taxes!

I much rather be paying 92 K instead of 800K median!!!

[Ima saver]

Thanks Tina. It says the average price for a home around here is $106,000 but I have to disagree. I check the real estate listings all the time and you might get a mobile home for that, but there is hardly anything under $200,000 in this area!

[MonkeyMama]

Since the data is so old I checked my home town which we moved away from in 2000. Well, average income was 70k which we made well more than. (Actually I am surprised it wasn't higher). & average house price was $450k. Yup, that is why we moved.

The town we moved to was average income 40k & average house 100k. Today my guess is probably average income 60k & average house 400k. It is starting to look a lot like the financial craziness we left. Well, everyone had the same idea....

All of the numbers seemed a tad on the low side for even 2000 - both areas.

[Ima saver]

I thought so too, but it is interesting!

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

All of the numbers seemed a tad on the low side for even 2000 - both areas.

I thought the same thing, but then remembered that 'median' is not the same thing as average. Average income (or mean) is if they added up everyone's salary and then divided it by the population. Median is the number that falls squarely in between the highest and the lowest income value (I'm guess they take out anyone that is statistically aberrant, like professional sports players!).

In a town of 6 people where 5 make 20k and 1 makes 100k, the median income is 60k but the average is 33k.

Reverse it to a town of 6 where 5 make 100k and only 1 makes 20k. The median is still 60k, but the average is now 86k.

Sneaky, huh?

[vsjhoc]

"Growth trend: Washington is in one of the fastest growing counties in the state."

Hmmmmm, we don't have any counties here in DC, and we're not a state.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by tinapbeana

Median is the number that falls squarely in between the highest and the lowest income value (I'm guess they take out anyone that is statistically aberrant, like professional sports players!).

In a town of 6 people where 5 make 20k and 1 makes 100k, the median income is 60k but the average is 33k.

Reverse it to a town of 6 where 5 make 100k and only 1 makes 20k. The median is still 60k, but the average is now 86k.

This is incorrect. Median is the number that appears at the middle of a list of numbers..

So if there are 6 people earning 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 and 100, the median would be 20 because that is the middle number on the list.

In the second example, you've got 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 and 20, the median would be 100.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

This is incorrect. Median is the number that appears at the middle of a list of numbers..

So if there are 6 people earning 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 and 100, the median would be 20 because that is the middle number on the list.

In the second example, you've got 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 and 20, the median would be 100.

sorry about that, steve, you are of course correct.

wikipedia has great info on topics like this, but when i used them to refresh my memory the top half of the article matched what i thought was right and the bottom half includes an example showing the actual correct info.

"At most, half the population have values less than the median and at most half have values greater than the median. If both groups contain less than half the population, then some of the population is exactly equal to the median...
The difference between the median and mean is illustrated in a simple example. Suppose 19 paupers and one billionaire are in a room. Everyone removes all money from their pockets and puts it on a table. Each pauper puts $5 on the table; the billionaire puts $1 billion ... there. The total is then $1,000,000,095. If that money is divided equally among the 20 persons, each gets $50,000,004.75. That amount is the mean (or "average") amount of money that the 20 persons brought into the room. But the median amount is $5, since one may divide the group into two groups of 10 persons each, and say that everyone in the first group brought in no more than $5, and each person in the second group brought in no less than $5. In a sense, the median is the amount that the typical person brought in. By contrast, the mean (or "average") is not at all typical, since no one present—pauper or billionaire—brought in an amount approximating $50,000,004.75."