New numbers show how much is needed to rent or buy a home in the South Bay.
The city of San Jose now estimates a salary earning $54 an hour is needed to rent an average two-bedroom apartment in the city. And what about owning a home? The city estimates someone needs to earn $123 an hour to purchase an average home in San Jose.
"I would like to be able to afford something out here - I love the Bay Area," San Jose resident Audrey Atkins said. "I don't make $54 an hour, so I can't afford rent. I can't afford to buy a home."
Atkins is not alone.
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Many people are buckling under the increasing price of just about everything -- from food and rent to gas and the Bay Area's housing shortage.
Jeff Andrews is a Zumper senior market analyst who tracks rent prices for the company. He said the traditional wisdom of not spending more than 30% of your income on rent has not applied here in a long time.
"The number of people who are severely rent burdened or rent burdened at all, it's an all-time high, especially after 2021," Andrews said.
Another result of this? The number of permits for accessory dwelling units -- sometimes called granny units -- has shot higher recently in San Jose. The city said the number of ADU permit applications has more than doubled in the last two years.
