Apple News: Tech Giants Expands In Seattle, Could Cost Of Living Rise?

Apple (APPL) has decided to expand in Seattle, which will bring 2,000 new jobs to the city over the next five years.

"Under this plan, Seattle will become a key engineering hub for Apple, with new positions distributed across many specialty engineering fields including hardware, software technologies, and services" Apple VP of Global Real Estate and Facilities Kristina Raspe said at a press conference.

Apple's new 650,000 square-foot office will not be very far from another major company in the city, Amazon (AMZN). Google, meanwhile, will also build a new campus in Seattle this summer.

Other major tech companies in the Seattle area include Microsoft (MSFT) and Nintendo (NTDOY), which are located in nearby Redmond.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan praised the move by Apple but also highlighted the need for affordable housing. As major companies expand in Seattle, it could cause rising housing prices. The city may want to avoid a fate similar to San Francisco, where major tech companies such as Google and Apple have caused housing prices to skyrocket due to an influx of high-income tech workers.

Seattle is already near the top of cities with the highest cost of living. In order to live comfortably in Seattle, workers will need to make a salary of at least $89,248. This is compared to San Francisco, where one would need a salary of $123,268 to be comfortable.

The Seattle City Council has pushed to raise wages as the city has transformed into a tech hub, and voted in 2014 to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Concerns about the movement of major companies into urban areas have become a part of the national debate. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed against Amazon when the company was seeking to build a second headquarters in New York City, which prompted Amazon to cancel the move.