Cost of Living in the Hudson Valley
A budgeting spread of a calculator, money and notepad. Photo by Olia Danilevich via Pexels
As life continuously ebbs and flows, it is no secret that we will inevitably face hardships and bumps in the road. But now more than ever, we see a challenge that affects everyone, specifically in our Hudson Valley.
Whether you are hunting for your forever home or just a temporary apartment, the rising cost of living creates limiting barriers for so many. Within three years, from 2019 to 2022, residents in the Hudson Valley have witnessed the price of housing increase by 56%. Many have focused their blame on the 124.4% increase of New York City goers swiftly moving one to two hours north during the peak of COVID-19.
Quiet honestly, who could blame them? The attraction of the beauty of our landscapes and community beats an urban dense population during the spread of a pandemic. Yet, for many, this was not a permanent switch from “city life” to “country living.”
Documented nationwide during the pandemic, the purchasing of a second home increased by 88% across America. This caused a plethora of homes in the Hudson Valley to be left vacant until the work week was over and homeowners would return to spend their weekends. Many economists and residents in the Hudson Valley are now battling with balancing economic growth from the flood of tourists and part-time residents with diminishing resources for full-time residents.
As the demand for housing increased, so did the startling crisis of affordability. Residents of Hudson Valley felt the heat of the rising cost of living on a day-to-day basis whether it be in the grocery store or dining at a restaurant. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that
restaurant prices increased by 8.2% in the past year. This frightening statistic forces many to be cognizant of how they are spending their money, possibly having to pass up going out to eat. But the prices in the grocery store may seem just as unfriendly. In the last 12 months, the Consumer Price Index has risen 6.2%, including meats, eggs, dairy, sugar and coffee.
Wage stagnation in jobs has further compounded this pressing issue. As found in a Primerica survey, three-quarters of middle-income families in the United States say that their pay is not enough to meet the cost of living. And this burden only heightens for those with lower salaries.
The rising cost of living met with wages that cannot keep up affects millions of Americans, making it increasingly difficult for so many to maintain economic stability.
As families see the soaring prices in the housing market along with everyday essentials like food, they face the hard decision of where they can live a stable and happy life. This challenge of rising cost of living has specifically hit hard for young, new families in the area.
As prices increase, elementary enrollment in the Hudson Valley decreases. New Paltz Central School District has seen a decreasing number of 25 children in their kindergarten class. It was said that this decline accelerated during the Pandemic.
Whether it be grocery shopping, trying to lock down a new home, or wanting to start a family, the ever-glooming impacts of rising prices in the beautiful Hudson Valley have become a burden for so many.