HUD Housing Realities: Female-led And Feeling The Financial Burn

Rising rents and increasing mortgage rates are squeezing housing affordability for everyone. But for residents of HUD-subsidized housing? Housing has never been more expensive.

According to a new analysis from Porch.com, HUD residents are putting a whopping 29% of their income toward housing — up from 27.9% in 2009.

Monthly, that equates to about $315 in contributions per resident. Compared to the national average rent (which was over $1,400, as of December), it might seem a small number, but HUD residents make just a fraction of the average American’s income. Nationally, the median HUD household makes just $12,906 per year. The average household makes nearly five times that — $61,372.

The majority of HUD households are female-led, putting these residents at an even bigger disadvantage due to the vast wage gap between genders. According to the American Association of University Women, women make about 80 cents for every dollar men make.

“In many states, three-quarters of families receiving federal housing subsidies have a female head of household,” Porch reported. “Female Americans have higher poverty rates than their male counterparts, and half of the children in female-headed households fall below federal poverty thresholds.”

In April, HUD Secretary Ben Carson proposed a plan that would require HUD’s poorest residents to spend 35% of their income on housing, effectively raising monthly costs by $50 to $150 per resident. Carson backed off the rent hike when Congress increased the department’s funding in June.

Currently, about 3 percent of the American population lives in HUD housing. About 10 percent of HUD housing remains unoccupied, with the most vacancies in New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois. In New York, nearly 50,000 HUD units sit vacant.

Much of HUD is currently non-operational or scaled back due to the government shutdown.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.