Farmworker Housing Program Excludes Many Agricultural Workers

Income restrictions make some farmworkers ineligible for workforce housing, but affordable rural housing remains largely out of reach.

1 minute read

September 17, 2024, 9:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Farm workers bending down to pick produce from green rows in field with tractor in background.

F Armstrong Photo / Adobe Stock

A workforce housing program administered by the Department of Agriculture fails to reach farmworkers who need it most, reports Rae Solomon of KUNC and Harvest Public Media.

This is because the USDA Off-Farm Labor Housing Program includes household income caps based on area median income (AMI), which often disqualifies farm workers. According to researcher Richard Stup, “Farm wages have been going up faster than non-farm wages.” Meanwhile, units reserved for farm workers sit empty while workers struggle to find other housing they can afford, particularly in rural areas with limited housing stock.

Marty Miller, executive director of the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing in Washington state, “says ag workers in other states - like Washington, Oregon, California and Texas - have the same problem. He hopes the federal government will adjust the income rules so housing remains available for the ag workers who so desperately need it.”

Monday, September 16, 2024 in WJCT News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

4 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

6 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine