Massachusetts Congressional District Data Profile MA-05

Key Facts

31,748 OR 25%

Renter households that are extremely low-income
-17,817

Shortage of rental homes affordable and available for extremely low-income renters

$52,822

30% of area median income
$115,315

Annual household income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home at HUD's Fair Market Rent.

$2,883

is the average Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two bedroom rental home in this district. It is $2,429 for a one bedroom rental home.
$1,321

is the monthly rent a household at 30% of the area median income (AMI) can afford in this district. A household at 50% AMI can afford a monthly rent of $2,201.

$9,610

is what a household in this district must earn monthly to afford the average two-bedroom FMR — without paying more than 30% of their income on housing. This translates to an annual income of $115,315. A household must earn $8,097 monthly or $97,168 annually to afford a one-bedroom home at FMR.
$55.44

is the two-bedroom Housing Wage in this district. It is the hourly wage a worker must earn - assuming a 40-hour work week for 52 weeks per year – to afford a twobedroom rental home. The one-bedroom Housing Wage is $46.72.

Provide significant resources to build and preserve homes affordable to renters with the lowest incomes through investments in public housing and the national Housing Trust Fund
Encourage states and local communities to reform zoning and land use regulations that prevent housing from being built and push up housing costs
Bridge the gap between incomes and housing costs by expanding rental assistance so that it is universally available to all eligible households or consider other innovative approaches, such as a fully refundable renters’ tax credit
Prevent evictions and homelessness by creating permanent tools, such as emergency rental assistance, to help stabilize families in crisis
Other federal housing resources, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, should be reformed to better address the underlying market failure that results in the rental housing shortage for these households.