Is Housing Affordable?

Over the last couple of months, we've been sharing some information about affordable housing over on our social media. We began with the classic question: what would our world look like without affordable housing? We reflected on the unfortunate truth: a world without affordable housing is our world; we're already there. Below are some facts we posted on our social media and wanted to share with you all here too.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC):

“In Iowa, the (average) Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,040. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $3,465 monthly or $41,582 annually.”

Linn County FMR is $993 for a two-bedroom apartment. (Source)

FMR is used by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine rental rates for assistance programs. You can read more about FMR: here.

Someone working a minimum wage job in Iowa would need to work 89 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom rental at fair market rate. This is equivalent to 2.2 full-time jobs.

To afford a two-bedroom at FMR, they'd need to work 110 hours. This is equivalent to 2.8 full-time jobs.

An individual receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) gets $967 monthly. This means to rent an apartment affordable to them it would need to be $290. 

In Iowa there are about 95,000 extremely low income renter households but only 36,323 affordable and available rental homes.

When considering Iowa in comparison to the rest of the nation, we fair pretty well in terms of housing wage. We rank 47th in the country for housing wage, meaning nearly every other state would require a higher wage for someone to afford a standard rental unit. However, when we consider the facts shared above, we know even in Iowa people are not obtaining affordable housing. There is an affordable housing shortage and stagnation of wages. In fact, the Iowa minimum wage has not changed since 2008 and is the same as the federal minimum wage: $7.25. (Source) This is a far cry from the $3,465 needed monthly for a two-bedroom Iowa FMR apartment.

Where does that leave us? Where do we go from here?

The simple answer is we need more affordable housing, in our community, our state, and our nation. This is largely accomplished through government prioritization. You can find your congressional representatives here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member. Share with them these facts and, more importantly, why affordable housing matters to you. Keep it simple, keep it polite, and know you're having your voice heard.

Continue investing in programs that support people on their housing journeys. Willis Dady has several housing programs that help people obtain and maintain safe, stable, and affordable housing. You can donate online at www.willisdady.org/donate or via cash/check at 1247 4th Ave SE. It is because of your generous donations that we are able to continue offering these vital services.