SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – New census data shows that the median income has plummeted in San Francisco and nearby cities over the course of the pandemic.
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Between 2019 and last year, San Francisco had the largest drop in median income out of any large metro area in the country.
This drop came as high-income remote workers began to leave the region because they wanted to work from home elsewhere.
“So that could be cost of housing – people had a chance to move somewhere where it didn’t cost as much – or quality of life,” said Jim Wunderman, the president and CEO of the Bay Area Council.
That loss of high-income spenders is also taking a chunk out of the local economy, especially in San Francisco’s downtown core.
“Most obvious being small business owners, practitioners, who suddenly their clientele is gone,” said Wunderman. “And that has a really big ripple effect.”
“We need to figure out for the future what we’re going to do about this,” he said.
The latest data also shows that home sales are slowing down in the city, offering some relief to buyers, although at the same time, mortgage rates are on the rise.
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