Housing Affordability 101
Affordable to whom?
Learning Objectives
- Learners will understand the government's definition of affordable housing
- Learners will understand the income categories used by the government
- Learners will be able to use this knowledge to understand the affordability situation in Texas
What is 30% of your income?
- If a family spends less than 30% of their income on housing = "affordable"
- This definition ignores a lot of context
Texas renters burdened / severely burdened by rent
Two most common ways to subsidize housing
- Tenant pays 30% of income for rent
- Tenant pays a set amount for rent
Eligibility for subsidized housing is based on your area's median family income
Federal housing income categories
[EXAMPLE] Anytown USA - where the median income is $100,000
Amarillo $68,000
Lubbock $71,000
Dallas $67,000
Fort Worth $84,000
Median family incomein Texas cities (2021)
El Paso $57,000
Austin $113,000
Houston $62,000
San Antonio $66,000
Click this icon for a tip on calculating income figures:
McAllen $69,000
Many subsidized housing programs are reserved for specific populations
Just because a family is eligible, doesn't mean they'll get subsidized housing
Not enough affordable housing rentals in Texas
Government housing programs favor middle-income populations over the lowest income categories
Housers advocate at the Texas Legislature
SUMMARY:
Affordable for whom?
Resources
U.S. Census
NLIHC Gap Report: Texas
NLIHC Advocates Guide
Calculating income
For converting between hourly and annual wage, a good rule of thumb is that a year of working full-time is about 2000 hours, so you can use that number to get decent estimates. For example:
- $15,000 a year divided by 2000 hours = $7.50 per hour.
- $10 per hour wage times 2000 work hours in year = $20,000 per year.
Housing Affordability 101
Houser Staff
Created on August 30, 2023
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Vision Board
View
Periodic Table
View
SWOT Challenge: Classify Key Factors
View
Explainer Video: Keys to Effective Communication
View
Explainer Video: AI for Companies
View
Corporate CV
View
Flow Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
Housing Affordability 101
Affordable to whom?
Learning Objectives
What is 30% of your income?
Texas renters burdened / severely burdened by rent
Two most common ways to subsidize housing
Eligibility for subsidized housing is based on your area's median family income
Federal housing income categories
[EXAMPLE] Anytown USA - where the median income is $100,000
Amarillo $68,000
Lubbock $71,000
Dallas $67,000
Fort Worth $84,000
Median family incomein Texas cities (2021)
El Paso $57,000
Austin $113,000
Houston $62,000
San Antonio $66,000
Click this icon for a tip on calculating income figures:
McAllen $69,000
Many subsidized housing programs are reserved for specific populations
Just because a family is eligible, doesn't mean they'll get subsidized housing
Not enough affordable housing rentals in Texas
Government housing programs favor middle-income populations over the lowest income categories
Housers advocate at the Texas Legislature
SUMMARY: Affordable for whom?
Resources
U.S. Census
NLIHC Gap Report: Texas
NLIHC Advocates Guide
Calculating income
For converting between hourly and annual wage, a good rule of thumb is that a year of working full-time is about 2000 hours, so you can use that number to get decent estimates. For example: