National report shows Vermont housing ranks high among
least affordable rural states
Vermont’s high cost of housing highlighted in
2007-2008 housing affordability report
BURLINGTON –
This
year Vermont is the eighteenth most expensive state in the nation for renters
compared with 52 jurisdictions, including D.C. and Puerto Rico, according to a
new report jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition
(NLIHC), a Washington, DC-based housing advocacy group, and the Vermont
Affordable Housing Coalition.
Non-metro Vermont also ranks in the top ten for most
expensive rural areas.
The report, Out of
Reach 2007-2008, provides the Housing Wage and related data for
every state, metropolitan area and county in the country. The National Housing
Wage is $17.32 in 2008; the Housing Wage for Vermont has risen to $16.07 per
hour, or $33,342 per year
The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn
– working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year – to be able to afford
rent and utilities in the private housing market. This represents an increase
of 40% since 2000.
“Every year it is becoming more difficult for
low income families to find decent homes they can afford in Vermont,”
said Erhard Mahnke, Coordinator for the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition.
“This report clearly illustrates the pressing need for affordable housing
in our communities.”
According to the “2008 Between a Rock and a Hard
Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont” Report published by the Vermont
Housing Finance Agency last month, eight of the ten top jobs in Vermont do not
reach the housing wage of $16.07 per hour. The same goes for the top 9 fastest
growing jobs in the state.
“As the economy
slows and people are being pressed ever harder to make ends meet, we have to
make sure that we have enough affordable housing,” said John Fairbanks,
Public Affairs Manager for the Vermont Housing Finance Agency.
The situation for Vermonters living on disability
income is absolutely dire: with a monthly payment of only $689, they can afford
no more than $207 for their housing costs—$444 short of the average cost
for a one-bedroom apartment ($651 statewide).
The typical renter in Vermont earns $10.81, which is
$5.26 less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest unit. Working at the
minimum wage, a family must have 2.1 wage earners working full-time – or
one full-time earner working 84 hours/week – to afford a modest
two-bedroom apartment. As reported in the Housing and Wages in Vermont
publication, 61% of Vermont households have one or fewer wage earners, thus
putting affordable housing further out of reach.
A worker making the minimum wage ($7.68/hour in Vermont)
can only afford to pay $399 a month for rent and utilities, less than half the
cost of a modest two-bedroom apartment. Working at the minimum wage, a family
must have at least two wage earners working full-time to keep a roof over their
heads.
An estimated 53% of renters in Vermont do not earn
enough income to afford a two-bedroom unit at the Fair Market Rent.
The report provides the Housing Wage and other housing
affordability data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the
country. The full report is available online at www.nlihc.org.
The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition is Vermont’s
only statewide organization dedicated to ensuring that all Vermonters have
decent, safe and affordable housing, particularly the state’s low and
moderate-income residents, elders, and people with disabilities.
The Coalition’s 65 plus members represent most
of Vermont’s non-profit affordable housing developers, community land trusts,
housing and homeless advocacy groups, public housing authorities, regional
planners, funders, state agencies, and other organizations and individuals with
an interest in affordable housing. Together, VAHC’s members provide
housing and services to tens of thousands of Vermonters.
For
information on the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, visit
www.vtaffordablehousing.org.
Susie Posner Jones
Regional Partnership Coordinator
Franklin-Grand Isle Community
Partnership
Franklin-Grand Isle United Way
PO Box 387
St Albans, VT 05478
802.527.7418 x11
[email protected]
"Go to the
people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with
what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is
accomplished, the people will say they have done it themselves." -Lao
Tzu