Stacking home prices against income

Home prices increased relative to household income by multiples over several decades. A coin-stacking metaphor represents the relationship between buying costs and earnings across the country. Each coin equals $10,000. The stack width represents median household income, while the stack height represents the home price multiple. Locations with higher median income show wider stacks, but the home price multiple can still be higher, producing taller stacks overall. The metaphor emphasizes how housing costs can outweigh income differences, making affordability worse even where incomes are relatively higher. The coin imagery also connects the concept to personal experiences of counting collected coins.

"One coin represents $10,000. The width of the stack, or coins across, represents the median income. The height, or number of coin stacks, represents the home price multiple. So even though the median household income in San Francisco is more (wider stack), the cost of house more than makes up for that (more stacks)."

"As a ratio of home prices to household income, the cost of buying a house grew by multiples over the past several decades. The New York Times editorial board used a stacking coin metaphor to show the magnitude of the costs across the country."

"I like the stacks. It reminds me of when I'd count months of collected coins as a kid and feel rich with my penny rolls."

Read at FlowingData