Slightly more than one in five Louisianans was spending at least 50% of their paycheck on a housing payment or rent in 2010, according to a report released today by the Center for Housing Policy, a research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The study says 21% of working households in Louisiana—with a “working household” defined as one in which someone is working at least 20 hours a week but not earning more than 120% of the median income in the area—spent at least half their income on housing alone. Such a situation is defined as “severe housing cost burden” in the center’s Housing Landscape 2012 report. Louisiana’s rate of severe housing cost burden was slightly lower than the national rate of 23.6% in 2010, but the report says its still a “significant increase” from 2008, when the rate was 18%. The situation is even worse in the New Orleans metro area, where 28% of the population faces a severe housing cost burden, up from 22% in 2008. The study does not provide statistics for the Baton Rouge metro area. See the full 12-page report for complete state rankings and more details here.
Today’s poll question: What percentage of your income do you spend on housing?
