Key findings
- A renter household needs to earn more than three times the state minimum wage in order to afford average asking rents in San Diego County.
- Inflation-adjusted median rents in San Diego County increased 25% from 2000 to 2013, while inflation adjusted median renter household income declined 4%.
- San Diego County needs 142,564 additional affordable rental homes to meet the needs of its extremely low income (ELI) and very low-income (VLI) renters.
- The vast majority of San Diego County’s low-income renters spend more than 50% of income on rent, leaving little left for food, transportation, health expenses, and other needs.
- When housing and other costs of living are considered, San Diego County’s poverty rate rises from 14.5% to 21.7%, or one in five people.
- Overcrowding for low-income renters in San Diego County is 50% above the national average, contributing significantly to poor health and academic achievement among low-income children.
- Reductions in federal and state funds and elimination of redevelopment have reduced San Diego County’s affordable housing funding by over $139 million since 2008, a 67% reduction.