Nevada Has Worst Housing Crisis in the Nation: Study

People are shown in social-distancing boxes at a temporary homeless shelter set up in a parking lot at Cashman Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 30, 2020. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Nevada has the least affordable housing in the country, according to an analysis by several organizations based on data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HUD describes affordable housing as housing for which the occupant pays no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs, including utilities.

When a household exceeds the 30 percent threshold, other basic needs can suffer, including nutrition, health care, and the ability to keep up with housing costs.

Nevada is at the top of the list of states in which extremely low-income renter households were facing severe cost burdens, according to a study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIH).

Among low-income renter households in the state, 81 percent fit into the category of facing severe cost burdens (the highest number in the country) followed by Florida (80 percent), California (76 percent), Oregon (76 percent), and Arizona (76 percent). The NLIH also found that there are only 18 affordable and available rental homes per 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state.

The data from the NLIH also show that at least 97,000 renters in Nevada earn below 30 percent of the median income in the area, which is less than $20,000. This means that an increasing number of Nevadans are facing the risk of being homeless or having difficulty even finding a home because they don’t earn enough income.

Homelessness

The epicenter of the housing crisis in Nevada is in the southern portion of the state, home to the city of Las Vegas.

The Nevada Homeless Alliance reports that, on any given night, there are “5,083 individuals experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada and 13,076 Southern Nevadans, including families with children, couples, and individuals of all ages, who will experience homelessness at some point this year.”

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) believes that part of the cause of homeless in the region is that private investors are purchasing properties and artificially inflating rents.

“In the 4th Congressional District in Nevada, we saw 17% of the homes purchased last year being bought by private investors. Companies with no interest or connection to these communities are then raising rents to levels to price out the hard-working families that have lived in these areas for generations,” Horsford said in a statement.

National Epidemic

Nevada may be the state with the most problems when it comes to affordable housing in the country, but other states are quickly beginning to experience a similar issue.

Several organizations that monitor the need for housing say the entire country is facing a housing crisis.

“[The] U.S. has a shortage of 7 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters, whose household incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income,” the NLIH stated. “Only 36 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.”

Once again, Horsford pointed the blame at private investors, who he said are purchasing 1 in 7 homes across the country—and in specific housing markets, 1 in 4. To address the issue of “price gouging,” he has introduced the Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act.

“This is a national trend that the data shows is targeting communities of color and hurting single mothers at greater numbers. The HOME Act will empower the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary to investigate these corporations and take action to keep families in their homes,” he said.

Others blame the housing crisis on a shortage of homes. A report from the Upjohn Institute suggests that creating more homes could actually reduce housing costs.