How Affordable Housing Benefits the Economy

Housing options for people with varied income levels can build healthier local economies by creating financial opportunities for neighborhoods.  
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When more people can afford where they live, there are more opportunities to earn, spend, and save money, which supports local businesses by providing customers, as well as workers.  

• When people can afford where they live, they have more disposable income to spend on local goods and services (1), as well as save (5). This can: 

• boost local businesses (1) (8),  
• stimulate the opening of new businesses (1),  
• create jobs (1) (5) (8),  
• and establish new tax revenues (5). ​

• Increasing the supply of housing to meet surging demand helps prevent inflationary bubbles in rent and real estate prices (6). It can save cities thousands of dollars by reducing the use of expensive systems of care (7) such as:  ​

• emergency room visits (7),  
• acute care (7),  
• and inpatient psychiatric care (7). ​

When most people can’t afford where they live, it decreases individual earnings and can cost taxpayers trillions of dollars in social services, while investing in more housing affordability creates economic growth.  

• Increasing the supply of affordable homes adds between $1.2 billion and $2.4 billion annually to local economies across America, with every dollar invested into affordable housing creating $2.30 in economic activity (3).  
• On the other hand, less housing affordability costs the American economy about $2 trillion a year in lower wages and productivity, as well as limits opportunities for families to increase earnings, which causes slower GDP growth (9). 
• Affordable and supportive housing usually provides tax benefits that result in slight increases to surrounding property values (3) (6) (7). ​

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