I love U.S. government data collection. I think they do a great job and provide an invaluable resource for our society.
At Gobbi Wright we collect 16+ data points for 800 cities, towns (and 1 county) which helps us understand real estate in these markets. Additionally, we analyze the data as percentages and creating 15+ more data point we use to understand and compare markets. This data is gathered from sources including census.gov, realtor.org, Zillow.com, city-data.com, bls.gov, google.com and more.
We track the data historically, sometimes monthly, like Median sold price collected monthly (using www.realtor.com) and average rent prices we track quarterly (using www.rentometer.com).
Median Household Income we track every couple of years. Each of the 800 city’s data is easily collected at
HEAD SCRATCHERS
Gobbi Wright does not collect unemployment data currently to qualify markets!
Before Covid 2020 we used unemployment data from bls.gov to evaluate job situation in cities across the U.S.. During Covid, unemployment skyrocketed and then declined. Currently unemployment does not seem in reality. 3.8% in March, 2024 and below 5% since September 2021 – the numbers don’t seem quite right.
Millions of workers lost their jobs during Covid 2020, and not rejoined the job market and fell off unemployment. We personally know several skilled adults who have yet to find a suitable replacement job for their skill set. U.S. unemployment does not seem to accurately reflect employment situation, so we don’t look at it currently.
Median household income may not be reflective of actual income.
| Collection Year | Med. Household Income | Percent Change |
| 2019 | $69,560 | |
| Sep. 2022 | $64,994 | -6.6% |
| Jan. 2024 | $75,149 | 15.6% |
I lived through 2020, and a lot of people were making less, so no surprise to see a loss between 2019 and 2022. I don’t understand how 2022 to 2024 is 15% higher. Yes, everyone got a boost in 2021 (free money train), but a 15% increase. That seems a bit much, but here in a possible explanation.
Under heading “Income & Poverty” on the line reading “Median household income (in 2022 dollars), 2018-2022” on Census.gov site you can find the numbers. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219.
If this description is true then maybe 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 household income numbers inflated to reflect their value in 2022 dollars? Inflation rates in 2018 – 2.44%, 2019 – 1.8%, 2020 – 1.23, 2021 – 4.7%, 2022 – 8.3%. Total inflation of 18.47% over 5 years.
Obviously, each year is not average up that much, but it makes 15% more plausible. But what about the actual numbers for 2022 and beyond?
I hope the Census rights the ship and returns to annual estimates of median household income.
