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Affordable Rental Housing Out of Reach for Retail Workers
Retail sales workers cannot afford to rent housing in most major metropolitan areas without spending a disproportionate share of their incomes, according to new analysis of Census data on primary wage earners conducted by NAHB.
The NAHB research found that 92% of the apartments in the top 25 metropolitan areas were beyond the reach of salespeople, counter clerks, cashiers and other retail workers unless they spent at least 30% or more of their income on rent.
Moreover, in the few neighborhoods where retail sales workers could afford to rent, NAHB found that the housing was older and more likely to be vacant, suggesting that there may be problems with its quality.
“NAHB is leading an effort to focus the nation’s attention on the millions of working people who perform valuable jobs in their communities, but who are too often unable to afford to live close to where they work,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson. “This is a problem for millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public servants, but this latest analysis shows that the problem is particularly acute for those also working in the retail sector.”
The study was based on analysis of the most recent Census data for primary wage earners in the Census-defined categories of cashiers, counter and rental clerks, parts salespersons and retail salespersons. NAHB economists used the workers’ median earnings to calculate the share of rental units that they could afford in the nation’s largest 25 metro areas.
Of the 21,000 Census tracts comprising the top 25 metro areas, NAHB was able to identify only 1,000 in which at least half of the rental stock would be affordable to a household supported by a retail sales worker spending 30% or less of their monthly salary on rent.
In the majority of the metro areas included in the study, fewer than 8% of all Census tracts were considered “affordable” for families supported by retail sales workers. In the San Diego area, not one single tract could be classified as “affordable.” NAHB classified a unit as affordable if its gross rent did not exceed 30% of household income, a standard often applied in government housing programs.
The city friendliest to the retail sales workforce was Kansas City, where 26% of the tracts were “affordable.” The next most affordable cities were St. Louis (21%), Dallas (19%), Minneapolis (16%), Atlanta (14%) and Chicago (8%).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that about 15 million people were employed in retail sales as of 2002, a number that has grown about 1.6% annually since 1992, and which BLS projects will continue to grow about 1.3% per year until 2012.
Smart growth and balanced land use policies that take into account the ongoing demand for housing created by a growing economy and population are among approaches that will increase access to workforce housing in communities across the country, according to NAHB.
“Too often, local governments exclude affordable housing through large-lot zoning, urban growth boundaries or other slow-growth mandates that constrain the supply of land and drive up its cost,” said Wilson. “Restrictions on multifamily housing development and high impact fees and regulatory costs only add to the problem.”
To read the full report, click here. For more information, e-mail Ann Marie Moriarty at NAHB Multifamily, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8350.
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