Who is directly impacted by unaffordable housing?

Quick Summary

  • Housing unaffordability in Lexington is impacting workers in service and cultural jobs the most, due to weaker wage growth for low-wage earners than other job sectors.

  • This wage growth disparity is even larger for single mothers and households of color that work in these industries.

Why does this matter?

What is the context?

  • The impacts of uneven wage growth and housing insecurity are covered more in czb's city-commissioned report, but here are some quick takeaways:

    • Wage growth for workers in low-paying service industries (like retail, food service, and arts & entertainment) has grown at a much slower pace than higher-paying "professional" sectors (like healthcare, finance, and insurance).

    • Between 1998–2011, wage growth for service workers grew by 36%, compared to 60-80% for professional sectors.

    • During this same period, there was also a 54% decline in manufacturing jobs, causing industry workers to roll-off to lower-paying service jobs.

    • The situation is the worst for lowest-wage earners–those below 30% of Area Median Income. In 2000, 48% of Lexington apartments had monthly rents below $500. By 2012, this had fallen to 17%.

    • This disproportionately impacts single-mother households and households of color.

How can I get involved?

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