Affordable Housing Facts
- People who need in affordable housing are everyday people. They work as firefighters, school counselors and teachers, retail sales people, engineering, medical records and veterinary technicians.
- A family of four needs an income of $65,400 to be able to afford housing in SacramentoÑand thatÕs just rental housing, not even a mortgage.
- To survive, families should use no more than 30 percent of their income on housing and utilities.
- Approximately 32,000 people in Sacramento County pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing.
- Affordable housing does not lower property value. Architectural standards and adequate maintenance is the key determinant of property value.
- Residents of affordable housing become stable community members, with turnover of less than 10 percent annually.
- When residents have a sense of ownership and control over their lives, their community involvement helps to lower crime rates.
Why We Need Affordable Housing:
- Some 32,000 people in Sacramento County live in substandard housing, in overcrowded conditions.
- 5,000 school children in Sacramento County are homeless at least some part of the year.
- From 1996 to 2005, the median price of a home tripled, yet the median income only increased by slightly more than one-third.
- Between 2003 and 2004, the poverty rate actually increased.
- During that time, the earnings of low-wage workers, fell by 0.3 percent.
- In 1979, the state's highest paid people earned 3.8 times the lowest. Today, the highest paid earn 5.1 times more than the lowest.
- State spending on housing programs is less than 1 percent of total spending.
- Non-profits like SMHA now are the 8th largest sector of the economy. Non-profits not only help people in need, they keep the economy running.