In the latest example of how skewed California’s housing market has become, new data shows that in four Bay Area counties—San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, and Santa Clara—earning $100,000 a year now qualifies you as “low-income” for affordable housing eligibility.
That’s not a typo. Six figures, once the hallmark of upper-middle-class security, now places residents in the same category as those struggling to make ends meet.
This isn’t just a statistical quirk—it’s a flashing red warning sign about the state of housing in California. In fact, while not as extreme in places like Davis – $100,000 and you’re pretty much living paycheck to paycheck if you have any housing costs at all…