The financial changes that have occurred over recent years are staggering. According to the U.S. Census, in 2000 a one-bedroom apartment in the United States was affordable at an average cost of $542 per month, while the average monthly income was $3,512. Student debt was also much lower, with an average of $17,297 per student. However, today’s reality is vastly different.
The average monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment has skyrocketed to $1,769, while the average monthly income is only $4,629. Sadly, student debt has also increased significantly, reaching an average of $37,338 per student. With everyone drowning, who will throw us the life preserver?
Over the past week, I surveyed 22 MCC students to determine how the economy affects us. Based on my findings, many MCC students aren’t prepared to start their lives in this economy once they graduate.
How is the current economy affecting MCC students?
Students must enroll in 12 credit hours or four classes each semester to be classified as full-time students. If each class holds 75-minute classes twice a week on average, with an additional two to three hours of homework after each class, full-time students are expected to dedicate 20 or more hours weekly to their studies. At 20 hours minimum, students are projected to focus on school 80 or more hours monthly. With 76.2% of the MCC students who participated in my survey enrolled at the school full-time, finding the time to make an income is tricky.
In the U.S., full-time employees work at least 32 hours a week. Part-time employees work less than 30 hours a week. Over three-quarters of the surveyed students work part-time, and almost a fifth work full-time. Part-time employees are not guaranteed insurance, paid time off, holiday pay, or any other perks that full-time employees typically receive. Without benefits, part-time employees need to rely on their guardians to cover their medical bills, but that runs out once they turn 26. Where and how are MCC students finding the time to collectively care for themselves, their relationships, grades, and wallets?
Based on this survey, they’re not.
According to a study by Gallop in 2004, most of the polled population had between three and five close friends. But that was nearly 20 years ago; things must have improved, right? Due to the extreme technological advancements over the past two decades, relationships should have increased in quantity and quality. However, friendships in America have been on a steady decline. In the Gallop 2004 poll, only 2% of those surveyed reported having no friends; in the American Perspectives’ survey, 12% of Americans reported having no friends in 2021.
With the younger generation having busier schedules than ever, we’re in for even more of a friendship recession.
Sixteen million Americans currently work multiple jobs simultaneously. Nearly a fifth of the surveyed students work more than one job. With numerous jobs, schoolwork becomes an afterthought, and the opportunity to earn university scholarships drops. If students dedicate more time to their studies, and less time to making a living, they could earn scholarships, helping them out financially in the future.
The average American works 37.8 hours per week, totaling 151.2 hours monthly. The surveyed students, on average, work 61-70 hours per month. Fellow students work nearly half as many hours per month as non-college students. Working less during college is preferable — we need time for our studies. But what happens when we graduate with $100 in our savings account at 22? At some point, living at home will no longer be an option, and we must plan financially. What’s the problem with that? It’s impossible.
With these students spending 80-plus hours in school and an additional 65 hours at work monthly, what downtime do they have? Their overloaded schedule leaves students with less than five hours a day, with weekends off, to do basic daily tasks. Building relationships, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, attending doctor’s appointments, and keeping up with chores are pushed to the back burner to stay afloat academically and financially.
But even with all this hard work, is 65 hours enough?
Most (52.4%) of the surveyed students make between $1,001-$1,500 monthly. To live solely off this income, you must find rent for less than $500 a month. Most landlords, especially in Illinois, require an income of three times the rent price. It’s doable, but not around here.
The most affordable rental property in McHenry County is $800 a month for a 260-square-foot studio apartment within a house in Woodstock. The apartment has exposed wires, dirty carpets, and a small kitchenette. Pets are also not allowed. Renting this apartment would require an income of $2,400 a month. If students plan to keep the same pay, I suggest moving to Kansas, Oklahoma, or some parts of Ohio to find rent matching their earnings.
“Should I just live at home forever?” Among the surveyed students, 90.5% live with their parents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 54.5% of young adults (18-34) lived with their parents in 2022, 47.1% lived with their parents in 2000. The climb is steady, with a few periodic dips, but nothing long-lasting or substantial.
Many cultures and countries encourage living with your parents until you get married, sometimes even longer. Why does America shame young adults who still live at home?
The media has even coined the people who choose to live at home “boomerangs.” It is a derogatory term describing those who cannot financially support themselves and must continue living with their parents. Maybe it’s due to America’s pride and need for “freedom,” or perhaps it’s just another way to shame millions of young people into debt.
Unfortunately, whatever the reasoning, most people look down on a 25-year-old who lives in their parent’s basement.
“Can I afford to move out, even with roommates?” That depends on who you plan to live with and where you plan to live. The average American renter pays $851 per month in rent alone. Things will be a bit easier if you intend to move out with a partner, given that you’re ready for that step in your relationship, or roommate. The most affordable one-bedroom apartment in McHenry County is currently listed at $1,008 a month. The apartment is 675 square feet, pet friendly (at an additional cost), and has an indoor pool. The apartment does not have in-unit laundry, nor does it cover utilities. Do you and your partner make over $3,024 a month together? Can you afford $3.00 per load of laundry? Only 19% of the surveyed students can afford rent and only pay less than $750 a month. The rest aren’t able to afford rent at all.
“What about bills?” Nearly four in 10 Americans struggle to pay their bills in 2023. Do you or your family struggle, too? Most students in my survey pay less than $500 monthly towards bills, not including rent. These bills include groceries, utilities, gas, insurance, student loans, etc. The average monthly expenses in the U.S. are $2,124 per person. That’s over four times the amount current MCC students spend and twice or more the amount students make monthly.
“But what if I’m saving?” Are you even able to? A third of these students have less than $250 leftover each month. The lowest possible down payment percentage is 3%, meaning the smallest amount you would need upfront to purchase the least expensive non-mobile home in McHenry County is $4,707. If you saved $250 a month towards this home, reaching the total amount would take you over a year and a half. By this time, the house could either be off the market or the price would go up another several thousand.
Only three of the surveyed students feel they could afford a one-bedroom apartment alone by the time they graduate. If the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at a standard rate, the average one-bedroom apartment in the U.S. would cost $966.37 today. Instead, the same space will cost you nearly double. Every 12 months, CPI increases by 3.7%, resulting in more Americans needing to take on multiple jobs just to stay above water. With prices continuing to climb, many wages have remained the same since 2009. With a minimum wage of only $13 an hour in McHenry County, working a full-time job wouldn’t allow you to afford a studio apartment. To afford the studio apartment in Woodstock, you must work 47 hours a week, making minimum wage.
Not only is rent out of hand, but we’ve all heard the discourse over the price at the pump. With gas prices jumping 10.6%, the average price for a gallon is currently $3.90. So what do we do? Do boycotts work? Should we all take on extra jobs to be able to enjoy a nice meal once in a while? Should we be in college at all, or is a higher education pointless in the fight against inflation?
This article isn’t here to tell you to get your gas at Sam’s Club. It’s not here to teach you how to snag a side job. It’s here to scare you.
Do you want a house one day? Do you want to be able to support yourself if you end up alone in the world? Do you want to be able to have children? Wouldn’t it be nice to ask for more than help with your bills during the Holiday season?
As a full-time student who works three jobs, I’m exhausted. My body aches when I come home each day. My mood is off, and I get snippy with my husband. We don’t own a home or know if we ever can. We want nothing more than a small cottage-style home with a garden and at least one more bedroom. We have been living in our one-bedroom apartment since the summer of 2021. Our rent rises yearly; this last raise was an additional $50 a month from last year. We paid $500 for our cat deposit and $800 for our security deposit upfront. Our home does not have in-unit laundry, hardwood floors, or a decent-sized kitchen. We currently pay $1,085 a month plus utilities. To afford our place, we must make a monthly minimum of $3,255 a month. We also have thousands of dollars in student debt, car payments, insurance bills, and general expenses we need to pay off. Saving for a house at this time is impossible, so we haven’t set aside money in months. My husband and I both work full-time, and he has an associate’s degree. Yet the long hours we work, matched with his credentials and appropriate salary, we still don’t make enough money to plan for our future.
The outlook seems bleak for everyone. Here’s what some MCC students had to say:
“I am constantly reminded that I have a dark future to look forward to and that I will not be able to afford a quality life for a long time. I don’t have a light at the end of the tunnel; I just have to keep on keeping on and pretend like everything is going to be okay. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I graduate; I think a lot of us are really going to struggle.”
— Anonymous
***
“I don’t talk about money a lot, but when conversing with a co-worker, I got some insight into how hard it is to live off of $16 an hour. It worries me how people are supposed to afford living if they can’t get a good education or don’t have the financial support to even go to college.”
–D. Lopez, Class of 2025
***
“I’m stressed and will never be able to move out…”
— A. Ash, Class of 2025
It looks like we’re all in this together, yet there isn’t much we can do. Boycotts are nearly impossible nowadays, protests and riots do next to nothing (this is coming from a retired full-time activist), and the government is no help. The absolute best thing we can do is create bonds while we can.
With our minimal time, we should focus on human connection. Our relationships shouldn’t be forced to suffer due to the current economy. The only way to combat the stress we put ourselves through as hard-working college students is to laugh about it with someone who shares the same doubts and fears.
We’re fighting a losing battle; we might as well fight it together.
