The high cost of housing tops a new poll asking Bay Area residents what they worry about the most.
The findings come from this year’s Joint Venture Silicon Valley poll.
“The survey is telling us that people cannot get into housing,” Joint Venture Silicon Valley CEO Russell Hancock said. “They can’t afford basic housing, even if they’re highly compensated individuals in the highest echelons of our tech workforce.”
Aside from housing prices and homelessness, people in the Bay Area are also worried about finances.
According to the poll, 44% of all respondents say they’re financially unstable, and 52% say they’re likely to leave the Bay Area in the next few years.
There are some silver linings, like new companies and low unemployment.
“It’s harder and harden to break even, to be able to afford a home,” Betty Duong of San Jose said. “Without that optimism, how do we move forward?” Betty Duong of San Jose said.
While most people feel Bay Area cities, especially the downtowns, are heading in the wrong direction, 85% of respondents said their own lives are heading in the right direction.