In just a few short months, 37-year-old presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has gone from being the little-known mayor of Indiana 's fourth largest city, South Bend, to a household name — regardless of whether you can pronounce it.
In his time on the campaign trail Buttigieg (pronounced "boot-edge-edge") — or as his constituents call him, "Mayor Pete" — has emphasized his Midwestern roots.
"Everybody's talking about the middle of the country like it's some mysterious place and I think it might make sense to have somebody in the mix who actually lives here," Buttigieg told CNBC Make It in a previous interview. "I actually live in a middle-class lifestyle, in a middle-class neighborhood, in the American Midwest."
One aspect of that Midwestern lifestyle? Affordable housing. "[His] home is one of the nicest in the city and serves as a reminder of South Bend's distance from the coasts: The mortgage payment, according to Buttigieg, is about $450 a month," writes Nathan Heller in Vogue.
outh Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg arrives for Dyngus Day Drive street renaming event on Monday, April 22, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Dyngus Day is a Polish holiday celebrating the end of Lent. It has been celebrated in South Bend for decades with kielbasa, polka music, and beer, and unofficially kicks off the city's political campaign season.
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Data from the American Housing Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that the median monthly mortgage payment for U.S. homeowners is $900. Overall, monthly housing costs come out to about $1,036 on average for Americans.
According to Data USA, the median property value of a home in South Bend was $81,100 in 2017, while the national average was closer to $217,600. According to Bankrate's mortgage calculator, the monthly payment on a $81,000, 15-year mortgage at 4.5% comes out to about $619.64.
Source: Pete Buttigieg campaign
Buttigieg's salary as Mayor of South Bend was $112,314.40 in 2018. His husband Chasten previously worked as a teacher at South Bend Montessori but has since taken a leave of absence so the pair can campaign together.
This income is above-average for residents of South Bend, where the median household income was $37,441 in 2017 but still significantly less than the incomes of several other presidential candidates.
"The story of a place like South Bend — you know, exactly the kind of so-called 'Rustbelt City' that was being given up on — our story actually shows that there's a different way," he told CNBC Make It earlier this year, "that you can focus on the future, make your peace with the fact that there's no going back and come out ahead for it."
Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!
Don't miss:
emocratic Presidential candidate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg attends a campaign stop at Stonyfield Farms on April 19, 2019 in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images
No comments:
Post a Comment