Overview

What is Housing Affordability?

Housing affordability is the concept that residents should not spend more than a certain amount of household income on housing costs, including utilities; spending less than 30% is the generally accepted threshold for housing affordability. Milwaukie's recently completed Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) shows that housing affordability is strongly correlated with household income. The HNA found that 75% of households earning less than $35,000 per year spent 30% or more of their income on housing alone, and of those earning $35,000 or more, only 21% were housing cost burdened. In total, an estimated 37% of Milwaukie households are not paying an affordable housing cost. Milwaukie has a 27% share of renter households with severe rent burden (pay more than 50% of monthly income on rent).

How is Milwaukie Addressing Housing Affordability?

The Milwaukie Housing Affordability Strategy (MHAS) was adopted on July 17, 2018. This strategy contains 31 action items for short, mid-term and long-term implementation from 2018 to 2023 within the three main housing goals: 

Goal 1: Develop New Units
Goal 2: Prevent Displacement and Keep Affordable Units Affordable
Goal 3: Connect People to Existing Affordable Housing

Housing Affordability: City Council's #1 Goal for the 2017/2018 Biennium

On May 2, 2017, the Milwaukie City Council approved Resolution R52-2017, adopting three Council goals for the 2017-2018 biennium. Goal 1: Housing was a unanimous choice, illustrating the importance that the Council has placed on addressing housing affordability issues in Milwaukie. City staff was directed to "take every opportunity to address this housing crisis, including finding and working with partners to add new affordable housing units, and to encourage the private market to develop housing options that are affordable for Milwaukians at every income level and stage of life." For additional information see the documents below.