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CashNetUSA undertook an analysis of over 200 major U.S. cities, balancing local earnings against rental prices.
For four decades, U.S. housing authorities have defined affordable housing as costing 30% or less of a resident's income—an enduring benchmark, recommended by experts. However, the quest for housing below this threshold now demands more effort than in recent years.
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies' latest report reveals a deficit of 3.9 million affordable rental homes compared to 2013, compounded by record-low home availability and tight rental markets. In an unprecedented twist, Moody's Analytics reports that the average American now dedicates over 30% of their income to housing expenses.
With income and rental rates varying across cities, some locales offer more affordable housing prospects than others.
The CashNetUSA assessment identified the 20 cities where affordable housing is most and least prevalent, as well as those offering the most and least square footage for 30% or less of the local average salary. CashNetUSA employed data from Zillow.com to evaluate rental prices and cross-referenced this information with city-specific income data to ascertain the percentage of available properties aligning with the 30% affordability criterion.
The percentage of rental properties that can be afforded in Frisco, Texas, is only 18.98%. This low percentage is followed by the pricey area of Plano (24.06%).