Affordable housing stock in Columbus hits five-year low, according to new report

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus’ stock of available affordable housing has shrunk to its lowest level in at least five years, according to a new report.

An annual report of rental housing availability conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that while Ohio’s supply of affordable housing has rebounded slightly from pandemic lows, fewer affordable units are available for Columbus’s poorest residents. The study also found that the vast majority of the city’s lowest-earning residents spend more than half of their monthly income on rent.

Using 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, the Gap Report found that no state or major metropolitan area has enough affordable rental units for those considered extremely low-income. Ohio needs more than 267,000 more rental units to close its affordable housing gap, while Columbus needs nearly 52,700.

“This is no time to rest on our laurels. Evictions and homelessness are still increasing in Ohio,” Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said in a news release. “To reverse these troubling trends, we need Congress and the Statehouse to be more assertive in addressing affordability for our most vulnerable residents.”

The ratio of available affordable units to the lowest-earning renters in Columbus has worsened since 2017, as have most other metrics of affordable housing supply. 

While Columbus’ shortage in raw numbers is relatively close to the shortages in Cincinnati and Cleveland – 49,510 and 56,560, respectively – there is significantly higher demand for the units in Ohio’s capital city. 

In 2022, the median income in Columbus was $65,625 for a single-person household. Those designated as extremely low-income made up to 30% of the area median income, or $19,700. 

Units are considered affordable if they cost no more than 30% of a person’s income, and they’re considered available if they’re vacant or not occupied by those in higher income categories. In 2022, an affordable unit for one extremely low-income person living in Columbus cost about $547 per month.

In Columbus, there were 26 available affordable rental units for every 100 extremely low-income renters in 2022, falling from the 30 units per 100 such renters the year before. There were 38 units available per 100 extremely low-income renters in Cleveland and 41 units per 100 such renters in Cincinnati, both more than the national average of 34.

The affordable housing ratio in Columbus improves when looking at units available for those making up to 50% of the area median income, but the group still faces a shortage of more than 48,000 units. Meanwhile, there were 104 units available for every 100 renters earning up to $65,625.

And the true need for housing affordable at the lowest income levels is likely greater; as the report notes, the American Community Survey does not capture homelessness.

Those who spend more than 30% of their income on housing are at significantly higher risk of becoming homeless. And those earning the least in Columbus – and statewide – spend the highest portions of their income on rent.

Three quarters of Columbus’ extremely low-income renters spend more than half of their monthly income on rent, compared to just 2% of renters earning 81% to 100% of the area median income. Up to 70% of Ohio’s lowest earners spend more than half their income on rent – the highest percentage since 2016, according to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.