Working Families Pay More for Transportation Than They Save on

Affordable Housing, New Study Reveals

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Low- to moderate-income working families are finding that as they move further from work to afford housing they end up spending as much, or more, on transportation costs than they are saving on housing, according to a new study of 28 major Metropolitan areas nationwide entitled A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families. Conducted by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference (NHC), the study also found that the combined burden of transportation and housing costs for working families was remarkably constant across all the Metropolitan areas studied at an average of 57 percent of annual income. This comprehensive study was conducted with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and was released today in coordination with NHC's 75th Anniversary Policy Summit in Chicago, IL.

"In the midst of escalating costs to put a decent roof over their heads, Los Angeles families are moving further from their jobs to find affordable housing -- exacerbating our traffic problems -- yet many end up spending more on transportation than they are saving on housing," said G. Allan Kingston, President & CEO of Century Housing, a former Chairman of the Board of Governors for the National Housing Conference. "This timely report from the Center for Housing Policy emphasizes the importance of matching the development of housing with good transportation planning, an element of both the state and local housing bond measures, Propositions 1C and H, that will be on the November ballot."

Housing and Transportation Tradeoffs

In 17 of the 28 Metropolitan areas studied, the average transportation expenses for working families with annual incomes ranging from $20,000 to $50,000 are actually higher than their housing costs. Overall, across all 28 Metro areas, working families spend an average of 28 percent, or $9,700, of their incomes on housing and nearly 30 percent, or $10,400, on transportation. Transportation costs are based on auto ownership, auto use and public transit use and take into account the cost of commuting, as well as traveling for school, errands and other daily routines.

While the share of income that working families devote to housing and transportation differed from Metro area to Metro area, the combined burden of the two expenses was remarkably similar across all areas. These combined costs range from a low of 54 percent in Pittsburgh to a high of 63 percent in San Francisco, with 25 of the 28 Metro areas within three percentage points of the average combined burden of 57 percent.

Among all American households and income levels, and not just working families, housing and transportation are also the two largest expenses, but consume a smaller share of income at a total of 48 percent.

How Working Families Get to Work

The vast majority of low- to moderate-income working family commuters -- more than 85 percent -- in the 28 Metro areas studied drive to work in private vehicles. Commuters in some Metro areas take advantage of public transit alternatives such as extensive rail systems and buses. By far, public transit serves the greatest share of working families in the New York Metro area at 31 percent, followed by Chicago, IL at 14 percent and Washington, DC at 13 percent. The Metro areas of Boston, MA, Honolulu, HI, Philadelphia, PA and San Francisco, CA all have an average of 12 percent of commuters taking public transit.

Housing and Transportation Policy Recommendations

Numerous policy recommendations have emerged as a result of these findings. Specifically, it is essential for regions to coordinate their housing and transportation policies to ensure they fully reflect the needs of working families -- one example includes building more affordable housing near existing and planned transit hubs. Additional recommendations include redevelopment of inner city and older suburban neighborhoods near job centers and targeting job development in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in central cities and inner-ring suburbs. Policies to encourage car sharing and make car ownership more accessible and affordable could also help reduce the transportation cost burdens of working families who must commute by car.

Acknowledgements

This study is based on two reports commissioned by the Center for Housing Policy and funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The first report focused on neighborhood analyses and was prepared by researchers from the Center for Neighborhood Technology and Virginia Tech. The second examined working family households and was prepared by analysts at the University of California, Berkeley.

Metropolitan Areas Studied

The 28 Metropolitan areas studied are the same areas covered by the Federal government's most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey from 2003-2004 and include: Anchorage, AK; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Honolulu, HI; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO-KS; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa, FL; and Washington, DC.

For more information on this study, please go to www.nhc.org.

The Center for Housing Policy is the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference (NHC). The Center works to broaden understanding of America's affordable housing challenges and examines the impact of policies and programs developed to address these needs. For more information, please go to www.nhc.org.

Century Housing is a private nonprofit affordable housing lender, which has

helped create quality affordable rental and ownership homes for more than 12,000 individuals in the metropolitan Los Angeles area. Century's President & CEO, G. Allan Kingston, recently completed a three-year term as Chairman of

the Board of Governors for the National Housing Conference. Century links

affordable homes for low-moderate income families with More Than Shelter(R)

social services which include after-school tutoring for at-risk students,

career counseling for men and women to enter the construction trades, child

development for low-income families, and wellness programs for seniors. For

more information on Century Housing, please visit our website:

www.centuryhousing.org. To contribute to More Than Shelter, which supports all of Century's More Than

Shelter(R) programs, please visit www.morethanshelter.org. SOURCE Century Housing