Metropolitan Level Poverty & Income Class Guidelines
After my last post, I thought to break down our state into it's smaller economic blocks, so that way there's a more realistic guage for what constitutes being in poverty for different places in the state, based on income.
The way a 1:1 copy and paste would've been formatted would've made it utter hell to edit and make readable. On top of that, it'd probably be way too long for me to even post. So, they're in images. So far, I have:
New York Metropolitan Area
Buffalo Metropolitan Area
Rochester Metropolitan Area
Albany Metropolitan Area
(Note: Post-Tax income = Actual minimum cost of living, assuming no outstanding debts)
I will begin work on the following Metropolitan/Micropolitan Areas soon:
Utica-Rome
Syracuse
Kiryas
Kingston
Hudson
Binghamton
I plan on doing all of NYS eventually. Any area not covered by a metro or micro delineation will be merged into their own "uncategorized region", which I'll just name based on the largest city within it.
Components of Guideline:
Shelter - Utilizes 40th percentile Fair Market Rents as surveyed by the DHUD. For HH sizes 1-3, 40th %ile FMR for Studio apartment is used; 2 Bed has max capacity of 5 in this model; 3 Bed has max capacity of 8 in this model; 4 Bed has max capacity of 10 in this model.
Food - Averaged Low-Cost Monthly Food Budget for 19-50 y/o from USDA is used, also utilizing the recommended household size adjustments.
Internet - Assumption is made that the first 2 members will have a monthly bill of $75/mo, and +$25 for every additional member. Value will be adjusted for inflation or based on the actual data on monthly rates for certain plans, whichever data is available at that moment.
Transportation - Utilizes monthly public transit fares for each metro's mass transit system, added on a per person basis.
Clothing & Personal Cleansing - Utilizes the BLS’s Household Consumption Expenditures for Clothing/Apparel, and Personal Hygiene, and divides it by average household size. For each additional member, the per person expenditure is added.
Healthcare - Added on a per person basis, based on the BLS’s Household Consumption Expenditures for healthcare, divided by average household size.
Income Class Definitions:
Low-Income: 100% - 200% of Poverty Threshold
Moderate Income: 200% - 400% of Poverty Threshold
High-Income: 400%+ of Poverty Threshold
Income Classes Methodology:
These are based on the 50/30/20 budgeting rule.
So, if you are low income, you need to spend over 50% of your income on just scraping by. Aka, you're living paycheck to paycheck.
If you are moderate income, you can afford to live in the region without too much concern over paying for necessities; it'll take up less than 50% of your Post-Tax income. You can live pretty comfortably for the rest of your life if your income is simply adjusted for the regional cost of living.
If you are high income, necessities are effectively an after thought; they'll make up no more than 25% of your Post-Tax income. You can work for a mere 5 years and not have to work for another 10. You can very easily start up a business via your own funds. You can live the life of luxury you've wanted.
DISCLAIMER: These Income Classes are entirely subjective. Not everybody is going to agree with the reasoning behind their definitions.