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<p>The words “government subsidized” are what I was responding to. To the OP…if this is the federal free/reduced lunch program you are talking about it is different than what some others have pointed out upstream that are free to all.</p>
<p>Unless I’ve seen someone’s tax returns, I assume that I do not know their income. I wouldn’t expect anyone but my oldest friend to tell me the unvarnished truth about what they make.</p>
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State and local programs can also be government subsidized. It doesn’t have to be federal.</p>
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Sure but you can easily find a two bedroom apartment for half that.</p>
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<p>You can’t generalize about the east coast. It is very diverse. There are areas here that are extremely expensive–Manhattan and environs, for example–and areas that are not.</p>
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<p>An excellent question…</p>
<p>$50k in San Francisco, after taxes would have an impossible time surviving unless housing was free. In SF you’d qualify for free health care, section 8, tons of programs.</p>
<p>It’s not really a concern of mine, except if they don’t qualify, but accidently write down income numbers on the form so they do qualify, it’s fraud, and fraud bugs me.</p>
<p>As someone posted above, I don’t know their income. I just know the title of the position that the breadwinner holds, and am familiar with the income that that position generally brings into the family.</p>
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<p>We have one of those programs in my town. The USDA offers grants to specific towns to do that program based on their income status. It’s not the program I am referring to. I am referring to the income-based free or reduced lunch program.</p>
<p>Median household income in NYC is $54k (which means half earn less). Where I am, one could relatively easily own a home for that (median household income here is $50k). Big difference is that in NYC, many people wouldn’t own cars; here, it is a virtual necessity for many.</p>
<p>True^^^but using NYC, one must realize that some of the boroughs are in bad shape…the Mean income of the entire city is almost 80k,</p>
<p>In my part of New York State (between Poughkeepsie and Albany) the median household income is $52,000; for family households it is $61,000. So $50,000 is a bit on the low side, but I don’t think people locally would consider anyone earning that sort of income “poor.” We do have a lot of retirees living in the area, and the rural culture encourages a lot of folks to work “off the books” so I think those factors tend to skew the median income figures lower.</p>
<p>No, the median household income for the entire city is $54k. You only get to $80k by including Long Island and northern New Jersey. (An interesting tidbit is that Queens is the only location in the U.S. where African-American family income is higher than income of white families.) And half the households of NYC live on less.</p>
<p>I thnk think this is 2009 or 2010</p>
<p>Median. Mean. Living in poverty </p>
<p>Bronx $34,156 $46,298 27.1%
Brooklyn $41,406 $60,020 21.9%
Manhattan $64,217 $121,549 17.6%
Queens $53,171 $67,027 12.0%
Staten Island $66,985 $81,498 9.8%
New York City $48,631 $75,809 18.5%
New York State $53,514 $77,865 13.7%
United States $50,140 $69,193 13.0%</p>
<p>I think that you could get by in our town on $50K for three people. The median household income is about $87K but there are many houses and apartments where you could live on the cheap. The median in the two adjacent cities is in the $50s I believe. </p>
<p>We have an apartment which we are giving up soon in the city where our kids go to school. The median household income there is $39,000/year. So you’d be doing better than average on $50K.</p>
<p>In my area $200,000 is barely middle class when discussing tax increases but $60,000 is excessive when discussing teacher salaries.</p>
<p>^^Post of the day, tom. :D</p>
<p>$50,000 for 3 - that would be desperately poor! Tom 1944, Where I live, first year teachers make over $50,000 and the most experienced teacher salaries are in the low six figures. The community does value education.</p>
<p>In NJ where I live the average teacher makes $58-61k</p>
<p>Tom, I think you are comparing apples and oranges. Your are comparing teacher salaries for ONE person with FAMILY income. Teachers shouldnt be shielding from having two adults in house working, especially when their hours are generally more conducive to working parents. </p>
<p>But I think you knew that.</p>
<p>The family I am talking about is a single income family, by choice.</p>
<p>Should taxpayers be on the hook for the kid’s meals when one parent opts not to work and the other brings in 50k?</p>
<p>I mean, they’re poor enough to get on government programs, but not so poor that they both have to work to make ends meet.</p>