The rise of minimum wage means an increase in product prices. People often forget the correlation between the money deposited in a bank account and the money that comes out of pockets.

San Francisco residents will be earning $14 an hour next year but are also paying significantly more on groceries compared to Chico residents.

Along with this comes consequences for living expenses. Although a minimum wage increase sounds good, it has caused problems before by making cities unaffordable to live in.

Putting our small town of Chico into perspective, almost all of Downtown Chico’s Broadway and Main Streets are lined with small businesses. While there is support for the increase in minimum wage, from 3 out of 5 small business owners in Chico, it comes with repercussions.

Broke college students who are trying to pay their tuition may be satisfied with a 50 cent increase, but, getting through college just to earn an extra 50 cents an hour is only making the four-year journey more difficult.

While students will be benefiting from the extra money for a possible rise in cost for groceries or rent, San Francisco has already seen an impact. It is driving people away and turning outside the city for a lower-cost of living area.

Marrion Cruz can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.