RALEIGH, N.C. — Finding affordable housing continues to be an issue in some of North Carolina’s growing cities, according to a new report from Wake County.

What You Need To Know

  • Wake County's Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization department recently released its 2023 Annual Housing Report

  • Three out of every four low-income households pay over 30% of their income on housing, compared to the 24% of all Wake County

  • The department has spent over $60 million over the last five years putting money into affordable housing projects

  • Wake County has created or preserved over 3,500 homes since 2019

The county’s Department of Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization recently released its 2023 Annual Housing Report. It shows three out of every four low-income households pay over 30% of their income on housing, compared to the 24% of all Wake County, regardless of income.

A home is considered affordable when a family pays 30% or less of their household income on housing expenses.

Also in the report, between 2010 and 2020, the county population grew by more than 228,000 people. As Wake County has grown, so has the demand for housing.

During that same decade, homes renting for less than, on average, $1,000 a month decreased by 46%. Homes renting, on average, for more than $1,000 increased by 163%, according to the report.

Low-income renters and homeowners said these changes are part of the reason they’re not be able to afford to live in their homes. And as costs increase, there is not enough affordable housing for them transition to into.

To address this issue, the county is working with developers and community partners to provide more affordable housing.

Lorena McDowell, the Housing Department Director for Wake County, said her department has spent around $60 million over the last five years pushing money into these affordable housing projects. McDowell said things have been going better than expected.

“Well, our goal was to do 2,500 units in the first five years. We hit that goal in year three, and we are upwards of 4,000 units just moving into year five,” McDowell said.

But even with this accomplishment, McDowell said they know it’s not enough. They will need to find other ways to incentivize affordable housing, as well as finding other funding sources.

“It’s an ‘all of us’ problem, and folks of all levels of income here in Wake County are really struggling,” McDowell said. “So, it’s really going to take everyone to come together to say all right, this is an all of us problem, it’s not just city of Raleigh, it’s spread out across the county and quite frankly North Carolina and the nation.”

McDowell said they are working on things like bringing the faith community together to consider resources they have, as well as schools.

She said Wake Tech donated land to their department, and they are using it for affordable housing, which can help ensure teachers and students have an affordable place to live.

Wake County has created or preserved over 3,500 homes since 2019. However, it said an affordable housing deficit of over 65,000 units still exists.

There’s also an uptick in both eviction notices and court issued evictions, approaching pre-pandemic numbers, according to the report.

It’s also important to note that folks who can’t afford their rent may end up experiencing homelessness. Wake County estimates that around 916 people experience literal homelessness on any night.