What Is Affordable Housing?
The most common benchmark for housing affordability is the definition used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD states that housing is affordable when it requires 30% or less of a household's income. Households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing are considered "cost-burdened".
Affordability is not the only reason for housing disparities in America. Structural racism has created many other barriers to wealth and housing for BIPOC people.
Housing affordability is difficult to measure.
The HUD benchmark for affordable housing provides a convenient rule of thumb, but it is an incomplete metric. For example, it doesn't account for non-housing expenses such as daycare, tuition, or high medical bills. It also doesn't consider hard decisions for low-income households, such as choosing to pay rent instead of paying an electric bill.
Lack of affordable housing can lead to homelessness.
According to the 2020 Count Us In report, approximately 8% of individuals without a home in King County reported that they were homeless because they couldn't afford a rent increase. Housing affordability is listed as the fourth most common reason for living unhoused.
Homelessness increases faster in areas where households spend about 32% or more of their income on rent. The relationship between rent increases and homelessness is stronger in the Seattle area than most major cities.
Who Has Access to Housing?
Insights from the data below:
- Renters are more likely to be cost-burdened than homeowners.
- The highest rates of cost-burdened households are found among Black or African households and among American Indian and Alaskan Native households.
Additional housing data is available on the following City of Seattle webpages:
- City of Seattle Annual Affordable Housing Investment Reports
- Equitable development monitoring on housing and displacement risks
- Seattle Market Rate Housing Needs and Supply Analysis
- Seattle's population and housing characteristics
Why Do We Need Affordable Housing?
Housing provides a safe place to live, rest, and plan for the future. These basic needs are critical for any individual or family to live a healthy, successful life.
- The United Nations named housing as a human right because it can provide independence and dignity.
- Stable housing helps people exit poverty.
- Affordable housing helps those impacted by mental health or addiction recover in a safe, empowering environment.
- Temporary shelter helps people exit homelessness, but it is not enough. People who experience unstable housing need affordable housing.
Housing offers numerous long-term benefits, including wealth accumulation and community connections.
- Stable, affordable housing can lead to improved health outcomes, better education, and stability for families and children.
- Affordable housing in a neighborhood helps prevent displacement and foster a greater sense of community stability.
- Families with housing can save more, endure unexpected expenses, and pass their assets on to their children.
Stories from the Community
Wa Na Wari
Wa Na Wari carries on the legacy and culture of Seattle's Central District, a historically Black community where many Black residents have been forced out due to rising housing costs.
Chief Seattle Club & Sara Thomas
In this edition of the Reimagine Seattle series by the Department of Neighborhoods, Sara Thomas shares her story of "overcoming addiction, incarceration, and homelessness to help others in her community do the same".
What Are Some Root Causes of Racial Housing Disaparities?
BIPOC people experience structural racism that makes it hard to get affordable housing and build wealth through homeownership. The disparities created by this racism increase the risk of homelessness, health issues, and poverty.
Websites and Articles:
- Data and Reports (Seattle Office of Housing)
- Comprehensive Plan (Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development)
- Redlining in Seattle (Seattle Municipal Archives)
- The Seattle Open Housing Campaign, 1959-1968 (Seattle Municipal Archives)
- Closing the Gaps: Building Black Wealth through Homeownership (Urban Institute)
- Ending Housing Discrimination Is the "Unfinished Business" of Civil Rights (Opportunity Starts at Home)
- Systemic Inequality: How America's Housing System Undermine Wealth Building in Communities of Color (Center for American Progress)
- Undoing Structural Racism: The Need for Systemic Change in Housing Policy (Nonprofit Quarterly)
Books:
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
- Rothstein talked with Town Hall Seattle about his book
- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
- Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America by Randy Shaw
- Race Brokers: Housing Markets and Segregation in 21st Century Urban America by Elizabeth Korver-Glenn
- Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Who Is Taking Action?
This is not a comprehensive list of community organizations or government agencies that are doing important housing work. If you need assistance or information, we encourage you to do further research.
Explore the City of Seattle's Actions Towards Racial Equity
See who to contact, what we'll deliver, and how we plan on meeting our desired outcomes.