Zillow Grows Up
By Charles TurnerI’ve been critical of Zillow in the past but as snapshot of Portland this is pretty (if it is accurate is a different question). Click on the image to enlarge.
I don’t know what to make of the “who we are” section. Especially since the very next line states that a large portion of the population works for nonprofits.
Power Singles – High-income urban singles. Highly educated professionals, many with advanced degrees. They draw a handsome salary and have reasonable living expenses while living a hip, upscale life in an urban center.
Corporate Climbers – High-income, high-expense urban singles. Urban singles with an up-and-coming income, but with higher-than-average living costs. Most have college educations and are employed in mid-management professions.
Stable Nuclears – Higher-income urban family. Middle-age couples with children, pulling in combined household incomes nearing six figures. Most own their own homes. Some have a college education and work in a variety of occupations, including management-level positions.
Sounds more like San Francisco to me. Here is a comparision from Sperling’s Best Places. I assume this is the same Sperling who chimed in earlier?
Portland, OR Income and Salaries
The income per capita is $26,855, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $46,858.
San Francisco, CA Income and Salaries
The income per capita is $40,650, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $66,655.
Neither income per capita nor median household income in PDX fit the zillow profile (i.e. High Income, High Income, High Income). Unless of course $46,858 is considered high-income.
It just doesn’t fit with the emperical data available…
Power Singles and Corporate Climbers?! And this is supposed to be good? … When they put it like that it doesn’t sound like a very nice place. More like an episode of Survivor. But I suppose this is what we’re becoming.
Just for kicks and giggles I went back to Zillow and randomly picked a location: Casper, Wyoming folk are:
Humble Class – Lower-income couples.
Stretched Budgets – Lower-scale urban couples with children.
Upwardly Mobile – Suburban couples living in mobile homes.
Decatur, Georgia:
Rat Racers - Dual-income suburban families.
Easy Street – High-income suburban couples without children.
Pinching Pennies – Lower-scale suburban singles.
I don’t think Zillow is in partnership with visitor associations
Two of the three descriptions summing up Portland’s inhabitants are “high-income,” the 3rd being “higher-income.”
According to the below information on #wiki/Portland,_Oregon I see a different picture being painted than that by Zillow.com
“The median income for a household in the city is $40,146, and the median income for a family is $50,271. Males have a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Oregon has a 9% income tax which tends to suppress accurate reporting.”