San Diego-Carlsbad Ranks 4th Worst in Affordability for Middle Class Housing

An average single-family home now costs $570,533 in San Diego-Carlsbad, according to USA Today

What to Know

  • Housing is considered cost-burdened if more than 30-percent of a household’s income goes toward it.
  • USA Today considered an annual salary of $45,000 to $74,999 to be middle class.

San Diego-Carlsbad was ranked fourth in unaffordability for middle-class housing Wednesday by USA Today.

USA Today looked at 100 of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation and found 20 where almost a third of middle-class housing is cost-burdened.

Eight of the 20 areas were in California.

There aren’t many barriers in place to stop the increasing costs of middle-class housing, resulting in many not being able to afford a home, said USA Today.

USA Today found 52-percent of San Diego-Carlsbad middle class to be cost-burdened.

The median home value in the area rose 62 percent, which is over $220,000, in the past two decades, according to USA Today.

This is the second largest home value increase in the country, said USA Today.

An average single-family home now costs $570,533 in San Diego-Carlsbad, according to USA Today.

In their findings, causes of increased housing could be a result of the city’s population growth exceeding the national average, high construction costs, low housing inventories, environmental policies, and limited land space.

Other California cities on the list are located in the following:

20: Stockton-Lodi
16: Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade
11: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
7: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
3: Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura
2: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
1: San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward

To view the full list, visit USA Today.

Ed. Note: An earlier version incorrectly reported the city of Carlsbad, not the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan area was ranked fourth worst by USA Today. We have corrected the article and regret the error.

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