Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

New Study Says Making Ends Meet Now Even Harder in San Diego

A new analysis of the rising cost of living in San Diego shows a two parent working family with two children needs an income of $71,000 a year, just to make ends meet.

(Photo: New Art Pavilion designed by L.A. architect Frederick Fischer for the $5 million expansion of the Oceanside Museum of Art.  Alison St John/KPBS. )

A new analysis of the rising cost of living in San Diego shows a two parent working family with two children needs an income of $71,000 a year, just to make ends meet.

Donald Cohen is with the Center on Policy Initiatives , a think tank that studies issues affecting working families . He says if both parents work, they have to each earn at least 17 dollars an hour to pay for basic rent, food, transpiration, health and childcare.

Advertisement

San Diego's reputation as a high-cost low wage city continues to be absolutely accurate, and as we look ahead, $200,000 jobs that are going to get created in the next twenty to thirty years here, many of not most don't earn these kind of wages.

The study uses data collected by the California Budget Project. It shows low end jobs and high end jobs growing, but the number of middle income jobs declining.