Rents less affordable than in 2000
Finding an affordable place to rent has gotten more difficult, and not just in the Twin Cities, a new set of county-by-county housing profiles finds.
Minnesota Housing Partnership’s (MHP) “2014 County Profiles” reveal that affording rent is now more difficult for renters than it was in the year 2000 in all but three of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Rising rents and falling incomes for renters are to blame.
Since 2000, Minnesota’s median rents have risen by six percent while incomes for renters have fallen by 17 percent.
This pattern plays out in most of the state’s counties, with median rents rising in all but six counties, and renter incomes falling in most. The gap between rents and incomes has worsened in all but three 
Western Minnesota counties (Wilkin, Marshall, and Stevens) since 2000.
When rents grow unaffordable, lowest income renters are at particular risk of experiencing homelessness. Statewide, homelessness has risen for groups like seniors and children.
“http://mhponline.org/publications/reports-and-research/county-profiles” \t “_blank” Chip Halbach, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership, says, “Vulnerable seniors and children are, unfortunately, far from immune to homelessness. In the area of housing, we have a responsibility to those who have built our communities and to those who will create the communities of the future.”
The “County Profiles,” produced annually by MHP, take a comprehensive look at data for housing, including homelessness, the housing stock, costs to rent and own, and workers’ wages. Profiles for Minnesota’s 87 counties and the state as a whole, as well as charts, maps, and analysis, are available at: http://mhponline.org/publications/reports-and-research/county-profiles.
Information provided by MHP
Reach the staff at the MSR at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.