Bay Area trend: Low earners move out, high earners move in

Source: The Sacramento Bee

New residents to the Bay Area are earning far more than the people they’re chasing out, a new report says, pushing up home prices and highlighting the gap between owners and renters in Silicon Valley.

Lower income workers moving out of the Bay Area were being replaced by younger workers making about $12,640 more annually from 2005 to 2016, according to a national study released Wednesday by BuildZoom. The Bay Area income gap has accelerated from 2010 to 2016, with the average newcomer out-earning the typical former resident by about $18,700.

“In the Bay Area, you have a tremendous demand for housing,” said Issi Romem, BuildZoom chief economist and author of the study. High housing prices, he said, make it almost impossible for many families to put down roots and push them away from the region.

Bay Area newcomers had a median annual household income of about $70,000, while those leaving had a household income of $57,400, according to the study. About 60 percent of the newcomers had at least a four-year college degree, while about 50 percent of the outgoing residents had that level of education.