Did you know that 23% of an average person's income is spent on transportation in Fort Worth, TX (National Average income is considered $53,889)? On top of that, an additional 27% of their income is spent on housing? That's 50% of an average person's income spent! However, there are parts of our city where an average person could spend 60, 70, even 80% of their income on housing and transportation! When you have to spend money on housing and transportation, that leaves less for you to spend on important things like food, healthcare, savings... essentially, anything else! In fact, the Center for Neighborhood Technology states that 0% of the City of Fort Worth's Neighborhoods are location efficient (compact, close to jobs and services, with a variety of transportation choices, which allow people to spend less time, energy, and money on transportation).
Compare this to a place like New York City, which scored an 86% Location Efficiency Score. Typically considered a very expensive place to live, when you look at the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, a very different picture emerges. While 37% of a person's income is spent on housing, only 11% is spent on Transportation, for a total of 47%. If you adjust the figures for the region's typical average income ($67,296 instead of $53,889), the H+T Cost % goes down to only 39% of the total average person's income.
Want to dig into the data? You can find out the specific Housing + Transportation cost for a region, a county, a neighborhood or even a block using the Center for Neighborhood Technology's Housing and Transportation Index. You can also look up metrics like job access and the average number of automobiles per household.
Go to the H+T Index
Are you a data nerd? Dig into Total Driving Costs while you are at it! Total Driving Costs