Low Income Renters Lost Ground In 1990s Despite Economic Growh

The National Low Income Housing Coalition publicly launched its Local Area Low Income Housing Database recently, presenting a new database of housing statistics from the 2000 Census along with a new report on changes in low income rental housing affordability in the 1990’s.The report finds that economic growth in the 1990s led to some limited improvements in the incidence of housing cost burden among low income renters nationally, but over the decade housing problems became more concentrated among the lowest income renter households and their access to affordable rental units declined.The database includes statistics on the affordability and availability of low income housing units relative to the households that need them. The data is presented at the county, metropolitan area and state levels. From the website it is possible to download two national reports on owners and renters as well as 52 state reports (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico). There are also twelve national maps allowing for quick visual comparisons between counties for some of the most interesting findings. While the database is likely to be useful to researchers, it is primarily intended to help advocates inform policy makers and the press with hard data on the needs within their communities. [PDF format, 465 KB, 24 pages]

Thanks to Danilo Pelletiere