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Indicator: Percent of Households Paying Over 30% of Income for Housing

Data and Data Discussion provided by King County Benchmark Program

Percent of King County Households Paying More Than 30% of Income for Housing Costs

Percent of Households That Paid 30% or More of Their Income for Housing Costs King County, 1999-2003

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Upstream Indicators
  •   Land Use Mix --- The data for this indicator was taken from a snapshot study of King County.  
  •   Ratio of Jobs to Housing --- Despite small changes in the jobs-to-housing ratio in each of the four counties, there has been relatively little change in the jobs-to-housing ratio in the region over the last 14 years.  (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators
  •   Estimated Number and Percent of Homeless Persons --- From 2000 to 2004, the number of homeless increased nearly 30% to 6,852. On the one night count for 2008, that number had risen to 8,439, an 8% increase over 2007 figures. (Survey methods were changed in 2006.) Of these, nearly one third, including children, were sleeping outside in below freezing weather, an increase of 15% over the previous year. (1) The current emergency system and transitional housing system has approximately 6,700 beds. (2)  (view data graph)
  •   Neighborhood Diversity --- Seattle is becoming increasingly more diverse as the rates of population growth in people of color communities exceeds that in the white community.   (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

Increasing numbers of King County households are paying more than 30% of their annual income on housing, the common definition of affordable housing. As this cost burden intensifies for both homeowners and renters, it becomes increasingly difficult to pay for necessities such as food, clothing, education, transportation and medical care. While middle-income households are hit hard by the escalating costs and sacrifices, lower-income individuals and families are particularly stressed with wide-ranging impacts on the health and well-being of those barely making ends meet.

Sustainability Trend:

The percent of King County households - both home owners and renters - spending more than 30% of their income on housing has increased over the last 25 years.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Percent of Households Paying More than 30% of Income for Homeownership or Rent.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

In 2005, over 280,000 of King County's 746,000 households paid more than 30% of their income for housing, representing 38% of all King County households. Nearly half of these households were renters, despite the fact that renters represent less than 40% of all county households. Of all renter households that paid more than 30% of their income for housing, more than 97% earned less than the median income for King County. Of those owner households that paid more than 30% of their income for housing, about 60% earned less than median household income.

Data Source and Limitations

Data derived from 2005 American Community Survey.  Total households excludes 11,900 households with zero or negative income or paying no cash rent.

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Additional Resources

  • Housing Prices and Affordability
    Trends in the national housing sector have shown a substantial cool down over the last year, with home prices in several previously overheated metropolitan area markets stabilizing and even declining in some places. These national trends have begun to have some impact within the Central Puget Sound region, but relative to other metropolitan areas across the U.S., the housing market here remains quite robust. This issue of Puget Sound Trends takes a look at recent trends in local housing prices and its impact on affordability in the region.