Analysis

For many low- and middle-income Americans, the old adage “time is money” no longer holds. According to a new LISEP analysis, LMI workers are putting in more hours for less buying power—while also sacrificing time for health, family, education, and personal growth in the pursuit of basic financial stability.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has long been the go-to metric for measuring national economic success, often equated with growth and prosperity. However, while it offers a broad overview of economic activity, GDP frequently presents an incomplete and misleading picture of the economy’s health, especially when considering the well-being of middle and lower-income Americans or society overall.

Despite its reputation for high living costs, the San Francisco Bay Area MSA ranks as a top performer for middle- and working-class families. LISEP delved deeper into the data to uncover the factors driving this outcome.