State Of Housing And Homelessness In Washington
LIKE AIR TO BREATHE AND FOOD TO EAT, SAFE SHELTER IS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN NEED.
In recent years, thanks to strong advocacy and committed lawmakers, we’ve made great progress. The state has invested record amounts in homelessness services and affordable homes, adopted strong eviction prevention policies, expanded funding for rental assistance, and much more. But those investments and policies haven’t kept pace with rising housing costs. In Washington, a safe, stable home is still out of reach for many.
• In the next 20 years Washington needs 1.1 million more homes. Almost 650,000 will need to be affordable for low-income households.
• Almost 240,000 renter households in Washington are considered extremely low-income, earning less than 30% of the median income in the area where they live. But there are less than three affordable and available rental homes for every ten households at this income level.
• In 2023, a full-time wage of $36.33 per hour was needed to afford the average priced modest two-bedroom apartment in Washington. In King and Snohomish counties, that jumps to over $47 per hour. Because of these high rents, a full three quarters of the lowest income households pay more than half their income for rent, leaving very little left over for food, transportation, childcare, and other basic needs.
• Between May and October of 2023, nearly half a million people in Washington reported feeling pressure to move because of a rent increase and 28% of those were displaced by that increase.
• In 2023, there were more than 16,500 evictions filed in Washington — largely due to non-payment of rent. That’s up from 10,414 in 2022.
Read the full 2024 Report to the Community (PDF)