People have a right to access affordable, high-quality housing. Below you can find data sources to help determine your access level.
ACCESS TO housing
Housing Affordability
Policy Map shows you the estimated “cost burden” of your area based on the percentage of annual income spent on housing costs.
FOR RENTERS: Cost burden is the area’s median rent (including estimated cost of utilities) as a percentage of household income.
FOR OWNERS: Cost burden is median monthly owner costs as a percentage of household income. Monthly owner costs include all mortgage payments, real estate taxes, property insurance, homeowner fees, condo or co-op fees, and utilities.
Policy Map Instructions: Open Map > Click housing in the toolbar above the map > Click Affordability and Cost Burdens in the panel at left > Click either Renter Cost Burdens or Homeowner Cost Burdens > Click Costs as a Percentage of Income, which should be the top option.
We recommend paying attention to the number 30 when looking at this map. According to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) people should not be spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
It is worth noting that spending 30% of income on housing is more burdensome for people with lower incomes. For example, if a household makes $10,000/month and spends $3,000 on housing costs, $7,000 is left over for other expenses. If a household makes $1,000/month and spends $300 on housing, only $700 remains for other expenses, including food, transportation, and healthcare.
Therefore, we also recommend looking at median income of the same area to get a more complete picture of how onerous that cost burden percentage is in practice. You can also do that in Policy Map. At the top toolbar, click Incomes & Spending > Income in the left toolbar > Household > All Households. Finally, keep in mind that the costs of other things affect how much of a burden housing costs are, such as transportation, healthcare, and food.
HOUSING ADEQUACY
The American Housing Survey measures housing adequacy, which they define as the extent to which a housing unit meets the standard of “a decent home and suitable living environment.” The criteria for moderately or severely inadequate housing are as follows:
Severely Inadequate if any 1 of these apply:
Unit does not have hot and cold running water.
Unit does not have a bathtub or shower.
Unit does not have a flush toilet.
Unit shares a bathroom with non-household members (other units).
Unit was uncomfortably cold during winter for 24 hours or more because the heating equipment broke down, and there were more than 2 breakdowns that lasted longer than 6 hours.
Unit does not have electricity.
Unit has exposed wiring, not every room has working electrical plugs, and the fuses have blown more than twice.
Unit has 5 or 6 of the following structural problems:
Unit has had water leaks from the outside in the past 12 months.
Unit has had inside water leaks in the past 12 months.
Unit has holes in the floor.
Unit has open cracks wider than a dime in the walls or ceilings.
Unit has an area of peeling paint larger than 8 by 11 inches.
Signs of rats have been seen in the last 12 months.
Moderately Inadequate if the unit has 3 or 4, rather than 5, of the structural problems listed above or any of the following issues apply:
All toilets were broken down at the same time for at least 6 hours on at least 3 occasions in the last 3 months.
The main heating equipment consists of unvented gas, oil, or kerosene heaters.
There is no kitchen sink.
There is no working refrigerator.
The unit does not have cooking equipment, such as a stove or oven.
The kitchen is shared with non-household members (another unit).
