Our new Health Needs Assessment for my community came out yesterday (for anyone not familiar, communities typically conduct whats called a “needs assessment” to gauge resources, demographics, and other information)
The findings are not great:
-71% of the population is at “working age” 18-64, but the majority of jobs in the community are retail
-Unemployment is UP 4% since 2019
-Depressive disorders are UP 3% since 2019
-The median house price is UP 45%! (Houses are about $75k more expensive now than they were in 2019)
Big take away from here, median household income increased a measly $4k annually during this time, while median house prices increased a whopping $75k. The disproportionality in this in stark. Wages remain stagnant or even decreased (raises are less than a market increase) while the cost of everything keeps going sky high. Why dont wages raise proportional to other things??