McKinley Park Existing Conditions Report

Housing affordability is not only a matter of housing cost. Household income and housing-influenced costs, such as transportation, are also major factors in residents’ ability to afford to live in McKinley Park. As previously stated in Section 2, compared to the City of Chicago overall, the study area includes relatively more households with incomes between $15,000 and less than $75,000 a year. The median income is lower than that of Chicago overall but higher in the distribution of median incomes among nearby community areas.

Table 8.2 Household Income, 2016 

Source: CMAP’s Analysis of American Community Survey Five-year Estimates, 2012-2016
 

Households are considered to be housing cost-burdened if they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Households spending more than half their income on housing are considered severely cost-burdened. Based on data specific to the McKinley Park community area, housing burden has moderately decreased for owner households in recent years (see Figure 8.7). In the period from 2012 and 2016, 38 percent of owner households were cost-burdened. A greater percentage (53 percent) of renters are burdened by housing costs. The greater proportion of income that residents spend on housing costs impacts their ability to spend money in other areas and support local businesses, such as retail, restaurants, leisure activities, as well as other daily necessities like health care. As a result, these households consequently may move out of the community to find other less costly housing options.

Figure 8.7. Percent of Owner Occupied Households Paying More than 30% of Income on Monthly Owner Cost

Source: CMAP Analysis of American Community Survey Five-year Estimates, 2005-09 and 2012-16
 

Figure 8.8. Percent of Renter Occupied Households Paying More than 30% of Income on Monthly Owner Cost

Source: CMAP Analysis of American Community Survey Five-year Estimates, 2005-09 and 2012-16
 

It is unsurprising that so many local renters are cost-burdened because many rental households earn less than $15,000 and there are very few local units affordable to households at that income level (see Figure 8.9). Instead, renters at this income level must struggle to pay for units affordable to households earning between $15,000 and $50,000 (of which there are many in the community).

Figure 8.9. Comparison of Rental Household Incomes with Occupied Units Affordable at Each Income Level, 2012-16

Source: CMAP Analysis of Fregonese Envision Tomorrow Balanced Housing Model using American Community Survey Five-year Estimates, 2012-16.