An Analysis of Homelessness Rates and the Role of Housing Affordability in America

This study argues that homelessness is primarily the product of a broken housing policy system. In a healthy housing market, there is a sufficient supply of affordable housing units in proportion to the number of lower-income households, allowing families and individuals of all socioeconomic backgrounds to access stable and adequate housing. To assess the relationship between housing affordability and homelessness rates in the United States, a pooled-cross sectional sample was used including 2019 data for the 48 Continua of Care (CoCs) categorized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as ‘Large City.’ By running a multiple linear regression followed by a series of simple bivariate regressions, we confirmed the hypothesis that out of the nine (9) employed independent variables, Housing Affordability Index for Single Family Homes has the strongest correlation with overall homelessness rates as well as each of the four (4) main subcategories of homelessness reported by U.S. HUD. That is, the higher the housing affordability in a given area for lower-income households, the higher the likelihood of that area seeing lower homelessness rates as opposed to comparable communities with a less affordable housing market. This is important because, since homelessness started being studied in the United States, there has been an ongoing debate about the factors that cause or exacerbate the risk of homelessness for community residents –typically divided between those who believe homelessness is mainly caused by individual behavioral factors like poor work ethic, substance abuse, and a range of lifestyle choices; and those who believe the local economy and housing landscape (specifically, availability of affordable housing) are the primary factors exacerbating this risk.It is not uncommon for voters to indicate a strong preference for homeless support services that require behavioral changes before providing stable housing –like the Continuum of Care– as opposed to those that prioritize immediate rehousing –like Housing First. This study is meant to contribute to the literature on the relationship between housing stability and the risk of homelessness through a correlation analysis of the community-level factors that are known to exacerbate housing insecurity, and reinforce the finding that homelessness is mainly a structural problem as opposed to an individual one. Despite individual behavioral factors, U.S. HUD data indicate that communities with an insufficient supply of affordable housing units tend to experience higher homelessness rates than communities with enough affordable housing to meet the needs of their lower-income households.

Author

• Guglielmone, Martina

Language

• en

Keyword

• Housing Affordability
• Homelessness

Date created

• 2022

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Sociology

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Schwartz, Martin

Committee Member(s)

• Ishizawa, Hiromi

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/9z903081w