New report points out acute shortage of housing for extremely low-income people

(Serhi Brovko/Getty Images/iStock)

Affordability issues for both renters and home buyers are rampant across a wide range of incomes in nearly every city in the country, forcing people to spend more than the recommended 30 percent of their income on housing.

A recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition demonstrates the severe shortage of rental homes for extremely low-income households, defined as households with an income at or below 30 percent of area median income.

Nationwide, the coalition says there’s a shortage of 7.2 million rental homes that are both affordable and available to extremely low-income households. Only 35 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households across the country. That shortage includes every state and major metro area, including the District.

The supply of affordable rentals varies from a low of 15 for every 100 extremely low-income households in Nevada to a high of 59 for every 100 of these households in Maine.

Among metro areas, Las Vegas has the lowest supply of 10 rental homes per 100 extremely low-income households, while Providence, R.I., has the highest with 47.

In the Washington region, the District has 45 rental homes per 100 extremely low-income households. Maryland has 35, and Virginia has 36.

For the full report, click here.

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