[txcwpalpha]

>But, 200K with a family of 4 (2 kids and a wife) is definately scraping by on the penninsula or SF.

Lol. No, it isn't. It is absolutely mind blowing what the general tech industry thinks "scraping by" means. The median household income in SF is less than 100k. At 200k, you make more than twice that. If you're just "scraping by" with 200k, then I can't even imagine what people making less than the median are doing.

[geebee]

Child care in San Francisco, the kind that goes from 8am to 6pm, runs over $2500 a month. That's not ultraluxe, that's pretty standard fare, and my estimate is probably on the low side. A 3br house in an unfashionable but largely safe part of town is probably well over $4000 in rent. Again, that's not a high estimate. If you have 2 kids in daycare and are paying a mortgage or even just renting, you're looking at $9,000 a month in these expenses alone.

Wealth in San Francisco is more measured by when you got into the housing market than what you make, salary-wise, unless you're quite a ways up.

Now, a two income family with tech jobs is likely going to have at least 300k in family income (though even with the expensive 8am to 6pm day care, expect lots of phone calls coordinating who will scramble over to day care before 6). These families are not "scraping by", and I agree we need to be careful with hyperbole. But the median household income may not reflect the cost structure for new arrivals to the housing market who lack the family structure that would cushion the blow of daycare costs.

[camgunz]

Being able to afford 8 hours of child care for multiple kids every weekday, and a mortgage/rent on a 3br house, is way above what most Americans consider scraping by. Americans who are scraping by use family, friends, and spouses for child care (or just hope for the best), and they live in low-cost housing often in pretty bad neighborhoods with bad schools that are far away. They also have trouble affording health insurance, they often share a single car (if they even have a car), have debt, and aren't saving.

[username90]

Do you send your kids to daycare when you have a stay at home wife? Those numbers doesn't make sense, either your wife stays at home so no need for daycare or she works and earns money covering for the daycare costs and likely more.

[pascalxus]

The Median houshold in SF has a rent controlled apartment and no kids (roughly 70% or more is rent controlled). If that's not you, you will have hard time.

[txcwpalpha]

>If that's not you, you will have hard time.

Only if you're a buffoon with your budget. A non-rent controlled, very large apartment in SF proper will run you $3-4k/mo. You can even bump that up to $5k/mo if you really wanted to go luxurious or pay for a 2-3 bedroom, and you would still be under the recommended "30% of salary goes to housing" metric. If you purchased a typical 30 year mortgage on a $1.5million house, you would still be at only 40% of salary spent on housing, and that's with an entry level salary! Most people cannot even dream of affording a home until they are in their 30s.

An entry level worker being able to afford a sizable home and still take away several thousand dollars a month in savings is so well off compared to the vast majority of Americans that it's outright insulting to say that they are anywhere even remotely close to "scraping by" or "having a hard time".