Household Discretionary Income
Published April 2024
Something I've always been curious about is what the world looked liked to my parents in the 80s. They
had two kids and would go on to have another two. My dad was from Small Heath Birmingham England, most famous
for being where Peaky Blinders is set. My family relied on my dad's postdoc salary. At the time, my dad was more familiar
with the different companies making maps than he was with what the US actually looked like. The result
was we moved to a farm in Amish country in Pennsylvania and made a go of it there. Yes, I know how to run a farm,
and all being well, never will again. Growing up on a farm with a dad building supercomputers in the
80s and 90s is one of those life's juxtapositions, you just had to be there to believe.
The most similar discretionary income map today, to what my parent's faced, is an Electrician with two children.
If you navigate it just right, you can just break even in the Pittsburgh area near where I grew up.
Though personally, I would have loved to have shown my dad the map of Seattle Washington.
Hopefully these maps can be used to help the next generation of families navigating razor thin margins.
-June
Two Working Adults with No Children
Teachers, farmers, and fast food workers have a high number of locales they can work in. Social Security pays out to all locations.
...now with Two Children
Having children and working as a teacher can turn locations families could live before having children into
debt sinks. For farm laborers having children puts an extreme pressure on lowering their standard of living
to, in many locations, the poverty level.
Two Working Adults with No Children
Judges, Lawyers, Data Scientists, and Financial Managers have fewer locations they can work in person, but receive higher salaries where they can.
...now with Two Children
Even with one high income earner in the family, to afford to live in more desirable locations families may
need to bring in two incomes to reach their desired standard of living.
