Key findings
- A renter household needs to earn nearly twice the state minimum wage in order to afford average asking rents in Stanislaus County.
- Inflation-adjusted median rents in Stanislaus County increased 15% from 2000 to 2014, while inflation adjusted median renter household income declined 12%.
- Stanislaus County needs 21,402 additional affordable rental homes to meet the needs of its extremely low income (ELI) and very low-income (VLI) renters.
- The vast majority of Stanislaus County’s very 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, Stanislaus County’s poverty rate rises from 21.9% to 23.5%, or nearly one in four people.
- Overcrowding for low-income renters in Stanislaus County is 78% 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 Stanislaus County’s affordable housing funding by over $18.7 million since 2008, a 74% reduction.