More than 15,000 households in Stanislaus can’t find an affordable home. Here’s why
Over 15,000 low-income households in Stanislaus County can’t find an affordable rental home, according to a new report from the California Housing Partnership.
The report, one of 58 released for each county in California last month, shows that Stanislaus County has 15,485 low-income renter households without access to an affordable home. Additionally, 76% of extremely low-income households are spending more than half their income on housing costs, compared to 1% of moderate-income households.
Due to a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, many low-income residents have to spend well over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. According to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a nationwide shortage of 6.8 million affordable rental homes for low-income individuals.
“That really leaves very little for anything else,” said California Housing Partnership President and CEO Matt Schwartz during a virtual event in Sacramento in May. “It means people are really one crisis, one lost paycheck, away from homelessness. And during the pandemic, we have unfortunately seen that playing out.”
To afford the average monthly asking rent, renters in Stanislaus County need to earn $24.13 an hour — or 1.7 times the state minimum wage, which is $14 at larger employers and $13 for small businesses.
Renters in Stanislaus would have to make $4,813 per month to afford the average monthly rent of $1,255, according to data from the real estate company CoStar.
Much of Stanislaus County’s economy is dependent on workers in sectors like agriculture and retail, most of whom make well under the minimum monthly amount needed to afford rentals in the county. Farmworkers make on average $2,499 per month, or $14.42 per hour, and salespeople in retail make $2,793 per month, or $16.11 per hour.
According to data from the Census Bureau, the median annual income for individuals in Stanislaus County was $27,840 in 2019, well under the state median of $31,960 for the same year. The same data, the latest figures available, show the median household income in the county was $63,037 in 2019. This is $17,403 lower than the median California household income and $2,675 less than median income nationally.
Between fiscal year 2018-19 and FY 2019-20, state funding for housing production and preservation increased 106%, while federal funding decreased 88%.
In Modesto, community and economic development director Jaylen French said the city has had success with adding affordable housing units because of the help of state grants, like at Archway Commons, an affordable housing community on Carver Road in Modesto.
But the city’s focus is broader: The local housing shortage is affecting buyers and renters across price ranges, and French said the only way to mitigate the crisis is to provide sufficient housing at all price points.
“We want to look at the full spectrum of housing,” French said. “All supply is going to help with the affordability issue in general. It’s not about just focusing on one group, you want to try to focus on all of it.”
This story was produced with financial support from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
To help fund The Bee’s economic development and children’s health reporters with Report for America, go to https://bit.ly/ModestoBeeRFA
