Builders Patch | HousingCount: Pennsylvania affordable housing data and latest news
Pennsylvania
Summary
Pennsylvania state is facing challenges to housing affordability. For every 100 low-income renter households, there are 66 units available that are affordable to them. The median household income in the state is $40,098 whereas the median rent in the state is $835. Currently, the state is short over 140,555 low-income housing units, meaning rental units that are affordable to households earning ≤60% of AMI.
- 30.8% share of renter households
- 41.0% share of low-income households
- 43.5% share of rent-burdened households
Renter population data
Renters vs homeowners
| Households |
% share |
| Renter households |
1,586,866 |
| Homeowner households |
3,560,917 |
| Total households |
5,147,783 |
Low-income renter households
| Households |
% share |
| Extremely low-income |
≤30% AMI |
| Very low-income |
31-50% AMI |
| Low-income |
51-80% AMI |
| All low-income households |
<80% AMI |
Rent-burdened households
| Households |
% share |
| Moderately rent-burdened |
339,228 |
| 30.0–34.9% |
128,804 |
| 35.0–39.9% |
87,586 |
| 40.0-49.9% |
122,838 |
| Severely rent-burdened |
350,688 |
| ≥50.0% |
350,688 |
| All rent-burdened households |
689,916 |
Affordable housing shortage
Rent vs median household income
| Year |
Median household income ($) |
Median rent ($) |
| 2010 |
28,051 |
593 |
| 2021 |
40,098 |
835 |
- Increase (2010–2021) in median household income: 42.9%
- Increase (2010–2021) in median rent: 40.8%
Affordable housing stock
| Units |
Amount |
| Supply (current stock) |
272,080 |
| Demand (total units needed) |
412,635 |
| Shortage |
140,555 |
| Total shortage |
140,555 |
| Supply/demand ratio |
65.9% |
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Addressing housing financing
- Location: 211 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
List of loan programs
QAP document (Qualified Allocation Plan)
The QAP is a document that states, and a few local agencies, must develop in order to distribute federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), which can be awarded only to a building that fits the QAP’s priorities and criteria. Each QAP must spell out a housing finance agency’s (HFA’s) priorities and specify the criteria it will use to select projects competing for tax credits. The priorities must be appropriate to local conditions.