2018 Standard of Living Index, Top 20 and Bottom 20

2018 Standard of Living Index

by Wendell Cox — The Center for Urban Opportunity (COU) has developed a measure (the "COU Standard of Living Index") that estimates the purchasing power of real average pay in metropolitan areas compared to that of the average employee who moves to a new residence.
Aerial view of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Highest 2016 Home Ownership Rate in Grand rapids, Los Angeles Last

by Wendell Cox — Home ownership is finally increasing in the United States, following the housing bust.

The Benefits of Homeownership Mean We Should Still Believe In The American Dream

by Cullem Clark — In 2004, President George W. Bush announced the aim of promoting a broader “Ownership Society,” in which more Americans could benefit from owning a home, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. “If you own something,” he declared, “you have a vital stake in the future of our country..."
Gavin Newsom at Web 2.0 Summit

California Needs a New Economic Model

by Joel Kotkin — California, epitomizes what economist Thomas Piketty has aptly called “the Brahmin left,” which trades in digits, images and financial transactions. This works well for the top earners, and their offspring, but most Californians are left out of the boom.
Residential rooftop solar panels

California Must Stop Trying to Stomp Out Suburbia

by Joel Kotkin — A suburban housing recovery after the Great Recession has been hampered, in large part, by tough regulations. By 2017, California metros like Los Angeles-Orange and even the Bay Area were producing housing at lower rates than...
London auction of Lehman BrothersJorge Royan

Ten years After Lehman Collapsed, We're Still Screwed

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — The collapse of Lehman Brothers 10 years ago today began the financial crisis that crippled and even killed for some the American dream as we had known it; middle-income homeowners did not see their wealth restored when the economy turned around.
California Exodus

A Generation Plans an Exodus from California

by Joel Kotkin — California is the great role model for America, particularly if you read the Eastern press. Yet few boosters have yet to confront the fact that the state is continuing to hemorrhage people at a higher rate
Charlotte, NC area

What is Middle-Income Housing Affordability?

by Wendell Cox — Few local or metropolitan issues receive more attention than housing affordability. This article provides a perspective on housing affordability, which is the relationship between housing costs and income.
Urban Center, downtown Toronto

Housing Affordability From Vancouver to Sydney to Toronto: Time to Do What Works

by Wendell Cox — A healthy market has a balance between supply and demand. In many cities, the demand for houses far outstrips the supply. Yet, cities have studiously avoided the obvious supply side policy that could restore housing affordability.
Classic ranch style suburban house

Pervasive Suburbanization: The 2017 Data

by Wendell Cox — The most recent Census Bureau population estimates have made it clear that migration to the suburbs and away from urban cores has accelerated dramatically since the early years of the Great Recession.