An Arm and a Leg
Local housing costs and wages don’t jive
Mono County recently received a Housing Needs Assessment conducted by BBC Research and Consulting that came with an unstartling conclusion: housing is expensive and wages are low. About 30 percent said they planned on moving in the next five years because rent or home prices were too high.
The assessment is a start to first understanding and helping to alleviate the housing shortage in the county along updating the county’s Housing Mitigation Ordinance. The last assessment was conducted in 2005. The study focused on the unincorporated parts of the county, but available housing in Mammoth and employment are tied to the rest of the county’s needs and shortages and so available housing was included, but not an assessment for housing needs in the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
Less than half of Mono County residents–42 percent or 5,800 residents, to be precise– live in the unincorporated parts of the county. Nearly 8,000 live in Mammoth.
BBC’s analysis concluded most of the jobs available now and in the future – cooks, cashiers, clerks, maids – won’t offer wages that will allow employees to afford the price of a home. These jobs pay between $10 and $15 an hour, and some earn tips.
Healthcare jobs are the exception to this rule. This is particularly true in the field of nursing, for which jobs can pull down about $40 an hour, according to BBC.
Most homes, condos, townhomes or single-family dwellings for sale in Mono County, including Mammoth, are currently on the market for more than $550,000. According to BBC, of the 118 single-family homes for sale in Mono county, 98 are priced at more than $550,000. Ten homes are priced in the $350,000 to $450,000 range and are located in the Bridgeport, June Lake and Bishop areas with only one available in that price range in Mammoth Lakes. There are five homes in the $250,000 to $350,000 range that are located in the Coleville and June Lake area. There is one home priced in the $150,000 to $250,000 range for sale in Bridgeport, and four in the 0-$150,000 range, mostly cabins, in the Mammoth Lakes area.
Of the 119 condos available in the county, 56 are priced at more than $550,000, 32 are in the $350,000 to $450,000 range, 24 are in the $250,000 to $350,000 range, and seven are in the $150,000 to $250,000 range. All of these are located in Mammoth Lakes. One mobile home is for sale in the 0-$150,000 range in Mammoth, as well.
