After Ocasio-Cortez defeated Rep. Joe Crowley in the primary in June and won the general election in November, she said in an interview with the New York Times that she was worried about paying for an apartment in Washington, DC, before her $174,000 annual congressional salary kicked in.
According to public records, she had $15,000 in savings in 2018, which should have been more than enough to pay for a $2,700 average apartment in Washington DC.
$174,000 is a very healthy paycheck for anybody in America, not to mention for a 29-year old as of 2019.
The median household income in America for 2019, after all, is only about $62,000 ($72,000 is the average income). See the chart below by the US Bureau of Census.
Real median household income in America chart
According to AOC’s communications director at the end of 2018, Ocasio-Cortez had around $7,000 in savings. Where the rest of her $15,000 in savings went, it’s hard to know. Perhaps she spent her money on moving expenses and preparation for her new government position.
She made about $26,600 in 2018, and she’s paying off somewhere between $15,000 – $50,000 on her student loan debt.
Her student loan debt is huge because she attend Boston University, one of the most expensive private schools in the country that has a 2019/2020 tuition of over $53,000. Kind of strange going to such a school given she’s a Democratic Socialist.
Despite only having around $7,000 in savings, Ocasio-Cortez is actually fairing better than the median 29-year who has just $2,430 in savings, according to a story by CNBC in 2018.
Given AOC doesn’t own property, and does not look like she owns any stock either, her current net worth is likely around $0 given her student loans cancel out her savings.
But don’t worry, Ocasio-Cortez will likely becoming one of those millionaires she despises within the next 10 years.