A back of the envelope comparison between the average income of those living in metro New York and the average price of existing houses that sell here shows the standard of living is quite low. Housing prices soared during the housing bubble, and didn’t fall back to normal in the New York area to the extent they did in most of the U.S. Unregulated rents are up. Those who purchased houses years ago at lower prices, or have lived for years in rent regulated or subsidized housing, are less affected. But for young people looking to move out on their own, and for people seeking to come here from elsewhere in the U.S. and all over the world, the personal standard of living is relatively low by U.S. standards, and going down. That is the bad news.

And, according to one theory, the good news. Because people keep coming here anyway, and something must be drawing them, something that offsets, for the moment, that low personal standard of living. A full discussion of this, with a couple of spreadsheets, may be found on Saying the Unsaid in New York.