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>> I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this.

what? how is that even possible? what are your debts? how long have you been in the top 1%? something doesnt add up.

most of the people I know are making way more than their parents, and are able to move out of big metro areas and live in the suburbs just fine.

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The tech sector is this nice bubble where we've seen lots of economic prosperity. If you look at the statistics you'll see that's not the case for a large swath of America.

Top 1% of income for a 30 year old (in the USA, in 2016) is, per this calculator, $188,000.

https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-age-calculator/

In overwhelmingly most parts of the country, that's plenty of money to own a house and support a family.

The people earning that much are (very) disproportionately distributed in those areas which are also the least affordable.

That's what the market in those locations will bear. Rich people, high prices. It's no different than a tourism economy.

Generation isn't the same as age. Being 30 means I'm part of the "millennial" generation which only takes $106,500 to be in the top 1%.

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