Politics & Government
One-In-Two Salem Renters Is "Rent Burdened": Census
More than 50% of households that rent have housing costs that are 30% or more of total household income, according to new Census data.
SALEM, MA -- The old real estate rule of thumb is that you should spend no more than 30% of your household income on housing costs. And its a rule most renters living in Salem break, where 50.4% of the households pay rent that is 30% or more of total household income, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.
While the 30% rule has been debated in recent years, federal guidelines say that anyone who pays more than 30% of their income in rent is "rent burdened." That can leave renters living paycheck to paycheck and make it difficult for them to save enough for a down payment to become homeowners.
The new Census data showed that the median rent for all apartment types in Salem was $1,106 in 2016. That comes to $13,272 per year. To afford that rent and not be considered burdened, household income would need to be about $45,800. Median household income in Salem was $61,083 in 2016, according to the Census data which was based on the 2016 American Community Survey.
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Gross Rent As A Percentage Of Household Income In Salem In 2016:
| Total number of occupied units paying rent | 9,268 |
| Less than 15% | 928 |
| 15% to 19.9% | 1,176 |
| 20% to 24.9% | 1,578 |
| 25% to 29.9% | 906 |
| 30% to 34.9% | 1,094 |
| 35% or more | 3,586 |
| Not computed | 186 |
The good news for Salem renters is that, over the past five years, the city has added housing units to keep up with demand. That has kept rent increases relatively low: between 2011 and 2016, the median rent in Salem increased just 5.3% to $1,106. Median home values, meanwhile, actually fell 0.9% to $317,400 during the same time period.
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Statewide, median rent was $1,129 per month in 2016, up 8.9% from $1,037 in 2011. Median home values in Massachusetts were $341,000 in 2016, down 7.3% from $343,500 in 2011.
The total number of housing units in Salem in 2016 was 19,435, up 3.7% from 18,742 in 2011. But Census data suggests the building is not meeting demand: unoccupied, or vacant, housing accounted for 5.6% of the total number of housing units in 2011. In 2016, it was 7%.
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Patch file photo.
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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