Regional Snapshot: Metro Atlanta Rental Housing Affordability

Inspired by the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) recently released 2018 Out of Reach report, this month’s Regional Snapshot looks at rental housing affordability in the region. The slide deck below provides an overview of national trends in rental housing affordability, highlighting how the state and metro Atlanta region fare compared to the nation and our peer metros before exploring the topic of affordability from the perspective of those for which the region’s rental housing is least affordable, our low-income workers and families.

Highlights from this snapshot:

The metro Atlanta region has nearly half a million low-income workers (defined as those making $1,250 or less per month). Wage growth is stagnant, rising just over 10 percent since 2010.
While previous Regional Snapshots have focused primarily on the cost of homeownership, renters are also struggling with affordability as rental costs, rising 48 percent since 2010, have outpaced wage growth in the region.
According to the 2018 NLIHC Out of Reach report, the fair market rent (FMR) for a 2-bedroom apartment in metro Atlanta is $1,031. To afford that rent, a worker would need to earn $3,437 a month.
More than 52% of our region’s workers earn less than the amount needed to afford a 2-bedroom apartment at FMR.
Evictions further compound housing affordability and economic stability challenges. Over half of the counties in the 10-county metro region have eviction filing rates over 20 percent, and though the filings may be resolved before the tenant is formally evicted, they remain on the tenant’s rental history, threatening long-term housing and economic stability.