Despite recent improvements in income among working-poor households (those working at least 20 hours/week and making less than 120% of median income) nationally, the Baltimore metro has seen a rise in those households that are spending more than half their income on housing, says Center for Housing Policy's Maya Brennan. In '08, it was 19%, and in 2011 (the most recent data), it's 23%. The generally accepted amount of money to spend on housing is 30%, but the "severely burdened" often have to choose among rent or mortgage, food, and healthcare, she says. One of the keys to productive workforce housing, say Maya and her colleague Janet Viveiros, is to increase options--not just bringing down rents but also providing downpayment assistance.
Morphing Workforce Housing Needs
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Janet Viveiros
, Maya Brennan
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