CTRebbe,
You seem to be ignoring the numbers,
A basic house in Lakewood, NJ and it’s environs, which is cheaper the New York costs aroun 500,00 right now and that is cheap factoring in taxes and the current low mortgage rate, and you already have 40,000 in expenses just to cover a mortgage.
Tuition in Lakewood, which is far cheaper then anywhere else is aroun 4,500 per kid.
If an average Orthodox Jewish Family in Lakewood has 7 kids that equals 31,500.
So just tuition and mortgage cost are 72,000 dollars for the average Yeshiva family.
We are not even beginning to talk about utilities, insurance, food, clothing, shabbos, yom tov, simchas, day camp etc…