Financial Security






While in many ways, MetroWest is a high-income region with much wealth, people in areas throughout the region struggle to make ends meet. The high cost of living, extremely expensive housing and myriad difficulties with transportation combine to put a financially secure lifestyle out of reach for many residents of MetroWest.

While the region’s overall poverty rate of 8% is below the state and nation, rates are higher in Worcester (10%) and rates are higher among Hispanic (17%) and African American (14%) residents. Education matters: while 20% of residents without a high school diploma had incomes at or below the poverty level, just 3% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree did.

And others living above the poverty threshold struggle to make ends meet. While the overall median household income in MetroWest was $110,000 in 2018-22, median incomes for Hispanic and African American households were substantially lower at $74,000 and $79,000.

In 2021 in MetroWest, to reach the living wage level and be able to pay for necessities, including housing and food, without outside assistance, a family of four with two earners must make a total of $134,200, and a family of three with one earner must make a total of $121,700, certainly out of reach for many of our residents.

Federal food assistance is needed at a high level among some populations. In 2018-22, 25% of Hispanic residents and 22% of African Americans participated in the federal SNAP program, higher than Asian (10%) and White (8%) residents.

And people of color in MetroWest (as well as the state and nation) have less access to financial services. In 2017, unbanked or underbanked rates in the three MetroWest counties are roughly 30-40% among Hispanic and African Americans.

Homeownership is an important factor for neighborhood stability and civic participation and, in 2018-22, the homeownership rate in the MetroWest region was 64%, exceeding  the state rate but lower than the national rate. However, while rates were 69% among Whites and 60% among Asians, they were 36% for African Americans and Hispanics.

Owning a home is simply out of reach for many residents of MetroWest. The ratio of home value to median income was 4.7 in 2018-22, well above the 2-3 range considered affordable. It is even higher in some communities, including Lincoln and Waltham, where the ratio was 7.5 and 6, respectively. Homes were more unaffordable for Latinos (with a ratio of 5.7), African Americans (4.7) and Asians (4.5) than for Whites (4.1).

Rent, too, is unaffordable in some communities, including Westwood, Maynard & Lincoln, which all had rates over 45%, above the 30% considered affordable. People of color in MetroWest paid a larger proportion of their income on rent: 30% for African Americans and 34% for Hispanics, compared to 26% for Asian Americans and 28% for whites.

Homelessness is a growing concern in MetroWest. While the rate has declined from a high in 2014, it was up 25% since 2008, with 4,950 homeless people counted during the annual tally in January in 2022.





INDICATORS REGIONAL TREND
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families Increasing
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Disengaged Youth Decreasing
Reports of Domestic Violence Increasing
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments Increasing
Households Without Vehicles Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work Not Applicable
Households With Internet Access Increasing
Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Average Charitable Contribution Maintaining
People Without Health Insurance Decreasing
Opioid Overdose Mortality Rate Increasing
Crimes Against People Decreasing
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Change in Total Population Increasing
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population Increasing
Language Diversity Increasing
Population by Age Not Applicable
Change in Population by Age/Gender Not Applicable
Seniors Living Alone Decreasing
People with Disabilities Maintaining
Change in Total Jobs by Sector Not Applicable
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate Maintaining
Share of Workers who are Professionals, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector Not Applicable
High-Tech Jobs Decreasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio Maintaining
Prekindergarten Participation Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Group Not Applicable
School Spending Per Student Maintaining
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group Not Applicable
Chronically Absent Students Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults Not Applicable
College Admission Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Maintaining
People Living in Poverty, by Education Level Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving Temporary Assistance Maintaining
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Living Wage Not Applicable
80/20 Income Ratio Maintaining
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates Maintaining
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership Increasing
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Rent Not Applicable
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homelessness Increasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Share of Workers who are Professionals, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Group Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group Not Applicable
College Admission Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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