Western U.S. Has Disproportionately Fewer HUD-Assisted Units Compared to Other Regions

A new report released by HUD, “Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 2019,” details how HUD-assisted households and their housing units have changed over time and how HUD-assisted households compare to renter populations more generally. The report presents data on HUD-assisted households in three programs: public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), and privately owned multifamily housing. The report finds that out of 19 million very low-income (VLI) renter households, 4.5 million, or only 23.7%, reside in HUD-assisted units. These households are more likely to be older, have low incomes, and have a household member with a disability compared to all renter households. Western states have a disproportionately low number of HUD-assisted units compared to other regions in the U.S.

The report uses data from the 2019 American Housing Survey on 4,066 HUD-assisted rental units. In 2019, 4.5 million households lived in HUD-assisted units, with HCVs being the most common type of assistance serving 2.2 million households. Nearly half of assisted renters (48.5%) receive vouchers. The share of assisted households residing in public housing continued to decline, from 33.4% in 1989 to 20.1% in 2019. The other 31.3% of assisted renter households live in privately owned multifamily units. In addition to the 4.5 million households served by these programs, another 14.5 million VLI renter households do not receive HUD housing assistance but may be eligible.

The geographic distribution of HUD-assisted housing is roughly proportional to the percentage of VLI renter households in the South and Midwest. The Northeast, however, is home to 27.6% of HUD-assisted units despite accounting for 21.8% of VLI renters in the U.S. The West has a disproportionately low number of HUD-assisted units (17.6%) despite accounting for 23.1% of the nation’s VLI renter households.

HUD-assisted households are more likely than all renter households to be Black, older, and have a household member with a disability. Nearly 46% of assisted householders are Black compared to 27.1% of VLI households and 21.8% of all renters. Hispanic householders of any race are slightly under-represented in HUD-assisted housing, making up 19.1% of assisted householders but 23.1% of VLI renters. HUD-assisted householders are also older than the general population, with 30.3% of assisted householders being age 65 or older, compared to 25.3% of VLI renters and 16.2% of all renters. Four in 10 assisted households have a household member with a disability compared to approximately two in 10 households among all renters.

HUD-assisted households have lower incomes than other renter households, including all VLI renter households. In 2019, median income was $12,500 for assisted households, $16,000 for VLI renters, and $40,000 for all renters. HUD-assisted households’ income sources differ from other renters as well, with 39.7% of assisted households receiving income from wages and salaries compared to 51.1% and 72.6% of VLI renters and all renters, respectively. HUD-assisted households are more likely than non-assisted households to receive income from food stamps (51.4%), Social Security (32.9%), and SSI (23.4%).

One of the main goals of HUD assistance programs is to decrease or eliminate cost-burdens for renter households. The report found that HUD-assisted households are less likely to experience housing cost-burden than all VLI renters, with 63.1% of assisted households and 83.3% of VLI renters experiencing cost-burden. Even so, the rate of cost-burden among assisted households remains high: 27.1% of public housing tenants, 30.7% of tenants in privately owned multifamily housing, and 40.1% of HCV recipients spend more than 50% of their income on rent. The report notes that while HUD programs generally require renters to pay 30% of their income toward rent, there are many exceptions. The HCV program, for example, allows new and relocating voucher holders to have an initial cost-burden up to 40% but has no cost-burden limits for voucher holders after one year of residency. The report also notes that measurement error and monthly variation in income and housing expenses could affect these values.

The report can be found at: https://bit.ly/3DMpY2y