This article has been reprinted courtesy of Inamn News.com
Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Retail sales workers cannot afford to rent housing in most major metropolitan areas without spending a disproportionate share of their incomes, according to new analysis of Census data of primary wage earners conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.

NAHB found that the vast majority of apartments – about 92 percent – in the top 25 metropolitan areas were beyond the reach of retail salespeople, counter clerks, cashiers and other retail workers unless they spent at least 30 percent or more of their income on rent.

Moreover, in the few neighborhoods where retail sales workers could afford to rent, NAHB found that the housing was older and more likely to be vacant, suggesting that there may be problems with its quality.

The study is based on analysis of the most recent Census data for primary wage earners in the Census-defined categories of cashiers, counter and rental clerks, parts salespersons, and retail salespersons. NAHB economists used the workers' median earnings to calculate the share of rental units that they could afford in the nation's largest 25 metro areas.

Of the 21,000 Census tracts that comprise the top 25 metropolitan areas, NAHB was able to identify only 1,000 tracts in which at least half of the rental stock would be affordable to a household supported by a retail sales worker spending 30 percent or less of their monthly salary on rent.

In the majority of the metro areas included in the study, fewer than 8 percent of all census tracts were considered "affordable" for families supported by retail sales workers. And in the San Diego area, not a single Census tract could be classified as "affordable." NAHB classifies a unit as affordable if its gross rent does not exceed 30 percent of household income, a standard often applied in government housing programs.

The city friendliest to the retail sales workforce was Kansas City, where 26 percent of the Census tracts were designated "affordable." The next most affordable cities were St. Louis (21 percent), Dallas (19 percent), Minneapolis (16 percent), Atlanta (14 percent), and Chicago (8 percent).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about 15 million people were employed in retail sales as of 2002, a number that has grown at about 1.6 percent per year since 1992, and which, BLS projects, will continue to grow at about 1.3 percent per year until 2012.

Ways to increase access to workforce housing in communities across the country include smart growth and balanced land-use policies that take into account the ongoing demand for housing created by a growing economy and population, according to NAHB. Too often, local governments exclude affordable housing through large-lot zoning, urban growth boundaries or other slow-growth mandates that constrain the supply of land and drive up its cost.

Restrictions on multifamily housing development and high impact fees and regulatory costs only add to the problem, the analysis found.

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