Income after housing shows how much income San Franciscans have left over after they pay for housing expenses. Housing is one of the largest household expenses. This measure of remaining income indicates ability to pay for food, health care, transportation, taxes, and other expenses that contribute to the household’s general economic well-being.
The measure is the median household income after renters and owners pay for the housing costs. The two dashboards that show the measure by the householder’s:
- Occupation by peer city
- Race or ethnicity
Income after housing by occupation
The data below uses the American Community Survey (ACS). The data below does not include 2020 data. Due to the impacts of the pandemic, the 2020 ACS had significantly lower response rates then prior years. As a result, the data is unreliable. The Census Bureau released the data as “experimental” but strongly discourages using the data to draw conclusions. As a result, we have chosen not to display that data.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
This page shows the measure “Income after housing” over time adjusted for inflation. The measure is the amount of household income left after subtracting housing costs. Income and housing costs are at the household level. Occupation and race are at the individual level.
Methodology
We calculated income after housing using the online data analysis tool in IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (www.ipums.org). The data analysis tool uses microdata from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey. It includes data to adjust for inflation.
We did not report median household income for the smaller populations. The Census does not report median household income for American Indian/Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander n its summary table for median household income by race for San Francisco. (Table S1903). We followed their lead in our calculations from the microdata. The year-to-year variations in median household income after housing likely result from the small sample sizes. For example, households with an American Indian/Alaska Native as the householder the measure (in 2021 dollars) was $6,333 per month in 2018, decreased to $2,096 in 2019, and then increased to $2,909 in 2021.
We also did not report the measure for additional small populations in the race/ethnicity, including Two or More Races, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race Alone. We grouped occupations to larger groups because the sample sizes drawn from San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle were small and large variations in the metric resulted from small sample sizes. Where possible, we grouped related occupations
Data Limitations
There are several limitations to these data sources, including:
- Income represents the household, while occupations and demographics represent an individual.
- Household income includes income from other household members and sources.
- Households differ in the amount of income after housing they need to meet basic needs.
- The household income reported here is an average of that household’s income over a year. For those households that experienced unemployment for a significant portion of the year but are now employed, it does not give a good sense of current status.
Income is reported for the entire household, while occupation and demographics are reported for one person in the household. The person is the first person in the survey response, called the “householder.” That person’s occupation and race/ethnicity may differ from others in the household.
Income after housing includes the incomes of all the members in the household and the housing cost for the household. The members of the household may have incomes from different sources. The householder and the other members may work in different occupations. Incomes may include sources other than jobs, including unearned investment income or government cash assistance. Lower-paid occupations may need to share their households with more workers in the household to afford the high costs of living.
Households differ in their in the amount of income after housing they need to meet basic needs. Households may have unique circumstances that require spending more on housing, childcare, health care, or another category of spending. Cities differ in costs of living for housing and other costs.
Cost of Living Calculators
The following calculators provide reference points for viewing the income after housing for the cities and occupations on this page. Comparing the measure with cost of living gives us a sense of whether the income after housing is sufficient to cover the average costs of basic needs.
- The CNN Cost of Living Calculator calculates the comparable salary in another city and the differences in major expenses
- The Economic Policy Institute publishes a modest family budget calculator for cities by household size.
Why do we track this metric?
Income after housing indicates how much households have to meet basic day-to-day expenses. Tracking income after housing lets us better understand if and how the pandemic impacted the ability for different groups to pay for basic expenses, once they paid for their housing costs and how that is changing over time as San Francisco's economy recovers.
San Francisco is among the most expensive housing markets in the country. Therefore, we track incomes after housing to determine whether income levels have adapted after they have paid the high cost of housing.
The pandemic affected housing costs and incomes. Rental prices fell in the first year of the pandemic, and rebounded in 2021, while home prices stayed about the same in 2020 and increased in 2021. Income trends varied by occupation and industry as many incomes were disrupted by layoffs as well as other changes (I.e. overtime, hazard pay, changes in occupations, etc.).
The purchasing power that income after housing represents varies by city because the cost of basic expenses is different in different cities. In most cases, San Francisco has the highest cost of living. For comparison cities, we have included cities that have similar costs of living in order to give a more accurate representation. Refer to the cost of living calculators such as the calculator from the Economic Policy Institute in the notes section for more specific comparisons.
How do we interpret these metrics?
An upward line indicates household income after housing is increasing from year to year. Increasing household income or decreasing housing costs would both cause the income after housing metric to increase.
A downward line indicates household income after housing is decreasing. Decreasing household income or increasing household costs would both cause the income after housing metric to decrease.
Several householder occupations in industries including Business and Financial, Service, Education, Arts Entertianment and Recreation, Healthcare, Food Services, and Sales as well as Other Occupations showed significant disruptions to Household Income after Housing that persisted through 2021.This was true in several of the comparison cities, but particularly in San Francisco. Some other households with householder occupations in industries like management, legal, and office and admin support showed very little impact as a result of the pandemic.
For San Francisco householders in many industries, median household income after housing was usually higher than in comparison cities and despite the disruption created by the pandemic, this seemed to remain the case although in some instances including Business and Financial, Education, Arts, Entertainment and Media, Healthcare, and Sales the difference between San Francsico and comparison cities was reduced. In the case of other occupations, the household income after housing fell dramatically so that it was lower than all comparison cities in 2021.
Income after housing by race or ethnicity
The data below uses the American Community Survey (ACS). The data below does not include 2020 data. Due to the impacts of the pandemic, the 2020 ACS had significantly lower response rates then prior years. As a result, the data is unreliable. The Census Bureau released the data as “experimental” but strongly discourages using the data to draw conclusions. As a result, we have chosen not to display that data.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
This page shows the measure “Income after housing” over time adjusted for inflation. The measure is the amount of household income left after subtracting housing costs. Income and housing costs are at the household level. Occupation and race are at the individual level.
Methodology
We calculated income after housing using the online data analysis tool in IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (www.ipums.org). The data analysis tool uses microdata from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey. It includes data to adjust for inflation.
We did not report median household income for the smaller populations. The Census does not report median household income for American Indian/Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander n its summary table for median household income by race for San Francisco. (Table S1903). We followed their lead in our calculations from the microdata. The year-to-year variations in median household income after housing likely result from the small sample sizes. For example, households with an American Indian/Alaska Native as the householder the measure (in 2021 dollars) was $6,333 per month in 2018, decreased to $2,096 in 2019, and then increased to $2,909 in 2021.
We also did not report the measure for additional small populations in the race/ethnicity, including Two or More Races, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race Alone. We grouped occupations to larger groups because the sample sizes drawn from San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle were small and large variations in the metric resulted from small sample sizes. Where possible, we grouped related occupations
Data Limitations
There are several limitations to these data sources, including:
- Income represents the household, while occupations and demographics represent an individual.
- Household income includes income from other household members and sources.
- Households differ in their in the amount of income after housing they need to meet basic needs.
Income is reported for the entire household, while occupation and demographics are reported for one person in the household. The person is the first person in the survey response, called the “householder.” That person’s occupation and race/ethnicity may differ from others in the household.
Income after housing includes the incomes of all the members in the household and the housing cost for the household. The members of the household may have incomes from different sources. The householder and the other members may work in different occupations. Incomes may include sources other than jobs, including unearned investment income or government cash assistance. Lower-paid occupations may need to share their households with more workers in the household to afford the high costs of living.
Households differ in their in the amount of income after housing they need to meet basic needs. Households may have unique circumstances that require spending more on housing, childcare, health care, or another category of spending. Cities differ in costs of living for housing and other costs.
Cost of Living Calculators
The following calculators provide reference points for viewing the income after housing for the cities and occupations on this page. Comparing the measure with cost of living gives us a sense of whether the income after housing is sufficient to cover the average costs of basic needs.
- The CNN Cost of Living Calculator calculates the comparable salary in another city and the differences in major expenses
- The Economic Policy Institute publishes a modest family budget calculator for cities by household size.
Why do we track this metric?
Income after housing indicates how much households have to meet basic day-to-day expenses. Tracking income after housing lets us better understand if and how the pandemic impacted the ability for different groups to pay for basic expenses, once they paid for their housing costs and how that is changing over time as San Francisco’s economy recovers.
San Francisco is among the most expensive housing markets in the country. Therefore, we track incomes after housing to determine what income households have after they have paid the high cost of housing.
The pandemic affected housing costs and incomes. Rental prices fell in the first year of the pandemic, and rebounded in 2021, while home prices stayed about the same in 2020 and increased in 2021. Income trends varied by occupation and industry as many incomes were disrupted by layoffs as well as other changes (I.e. overtime, hazard pay, changes in occupations, etc.).
By looking at this indicator by race/ethnicity we can better understand the differences in economic stability across different communities and wage levels. By comparing San Francisco to other cities, we can gain insight into the economic well-being of residents even in dramatically different housing markets.
The purchasing power that income after housing represents varies by city because the cost of basic expenses is different in different cities. In most cases, San Francisco has the highest cost of living. For comparison cities, we have included cities that have similar costs of living in order to give a more accurate representation. Refer to the cost of living calculators such as the calculator from the Economic Policy Institute in the notes section for more specific comparisons.
How do we interpret this metric?
An upward line indicates household income after housing is increasing from year to year. Increasing household income or decreasing housing costs would both cause the income after housing metric to increase. A downward line indicates household income after housing is decreasing. Decreasing household income or increasing household costs would both cause the income after housing metric to decrease. Changes could indicate a change in earnings, a change in housing costs or changes in both.
We show the income after housing data for the four largest races/ethnicity groups in San Francisco:
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Hispanic or Latino/a, of any race
- White
For all four race and ethnic groups analyzed, income after housing grew over the last decade with Asian, Hispanic or Latino/a and White households experiencing a decline from 2019 to 2021. This seems to indicate a disruption as a result of the pandemic, probably contributed to by the widespread layoffs that occurred during the pandemic and persisted into 2021 among other factors.
Black or African American households began and ended with the lowest median income after housing and experienced the least amount of disruption between 2019 and 2021 – actually continuing to grow slightly while other demographics saw significant declines. Despite growing at the fastest rate, more than doubling their income after housing, and narrowing the disparities with other groups, their 2021 income after housing remained significantly lower than all other groups.
Hispanic or Latino/a median household incomes after housing increased by 14% ($496) over the decade, the slowest rate of growth of the four groups, and disparities with other groups grew. The group ended the period with the second lowest income after housing and showed the biggest disruption to household income during the pandemic.
Asian households experienced about the same total gain, 56%, as White households, and both showed similar levels of decline during the pandemic. Despite showing similar trends, Asian households began and ended the decade with a significantly lower income after housing than White households.
Throughout the decade shown, White households had the highest income after housing. In 2012, for every $1 income after housing White households had, Black households had $0.15, Hispanic or Latino/a had $0.51, and Asian households had $0.60. By 2021, for every $1 in income after housing White households had, Black households had $0.32, Hispanic or Latino/a had $0.38, Asian households had $0.60. The racial and ethnic disparity in this measure is similar to San Francisco’s unique income disparities in median household income by race (U.S. Census, Table S1903).
While non-white races and ethnicities show gains over the last decade, they have not yet caught up with White households. Systemic and institutional racism in housing, education, employment, and economic opportunities contribute to the racial disparities in income after housing. Incomes may be lower on average for households with people of color because of education and/or employment discrimination and other factors. Disparities in wealth accumulation reduce opportunities for investment income. Housing costs may be higher due to discrimination in the housing market, including selection of tenants, approval for loans, home appraisal valuations, and other aspects of buying or renting