Where is the affordable housing gap in Kansas City region?

For decades, the Kansas City region has relied on affordability as a major selling point for economic development and quality of life. Today, however, these advantages are not available to all residents. The increases in major cost-of-living categories, such as housing, transportation, health care and groceries, are creating major challenges for low-income residents.

The region is full of options to minimize the month-to-month cost of housing for high- and moderate-income households on the surface. But low-income residents face a scarcity of options, often competing for too few places and paying more for housing than they can afford. For these residents, there are too few units in not enough places.

The Kansas City region’s claim of affordability holds a contradiction: plentiful housing available at affordable prices for moderate- and high-income households and a scarcity of options for those with fewer means.

Our  past research  demonstrated a 64,000-unit shortage of rental housing affordable to low-income people, but a surplus of total rental and total owner units  ¹ . While there are more existing housing units than households, prices do not match the need or household incomes. 

While HUD defines affordable housing as costing no more than 30% of a household’s income, most households choose to spend less when possible. Due to limited options at the lowest price points, low-income renters often spend more than 30% of their income on rent (also referred to as cost-burdened). In the Kansas City region, two-thirds of Extremely Low-Income (ELI) households and one-third of Very Low-Income (VLI) households are cost-burdened  ²  . 

For many low-income households, the region’s celebrated affordability is out of reach.

The mountain in the middle (or large stock of housing costing around $1,000 per month) that keeps costs low for moderate- and high-income households is unaffordable for low-income renters. At the same time, low-income households compete with higher-income households for a limited number of units. These higher-income households are seeking to keep their own housing costs low, particularly in areas with stable communities, high amenities and well performing schools. 

For low-income renters in the Kansas City region, there are not enough units and the units that exist are in too few places. There is an overall shortage of affordable housing and there is a distinct geography to where this housing is available, especially when broken down further by income groups. In the maps below, income groups are intentionally left distinct: While VLI renters can afford units within the ELI and VLI price points, there are unique and observable patterns along the income spectrum. Use the arrows on the right and left to view the different income groups.

Note: Less densely populated and more rural areas may appear to have a higher percentage of units affordable to lower income households, but this reflects a limited number of total units and a small population.

The maps below display where households are living by income group.

In our previous research, we found that 67% of the region’s ELI households were in rental units above their income group. For VLI renters, this was 34% and for LI renters it was 4%. 

Use the maps below to see where concentrations of renters living in units only affordable to higher-income groups are located.

There are many more housing choices throughout the region for LI renters if they were to spend 30% of their income on rent. In our previous research, we found 96% of LI renters were in units consuming less than 30% of their income, and 53% were living in units that would otherwise be affordable to lower income groups. LI renters in the region’s suburbs are often occupying units affordable to VLI or ELI households, increasing the scarcity of affordable units for the region's lowest-income households.  

Use the maps below to explore where high percentages of units affordable to lower-income groups are being occupied by higher-income groups.

Many of the units affordable to LI households are occupied by higher-income households, who are also seeking lower rents and attractive amenities, such as high performing schools and public services. This observation is, in part, a result of using 30% of income as a measure of affordability. It illustrates how the 30% threshold inflates the number of units available to an income group by assuming that 30% of their budget could be allocated to housing. It also demonstrates how households use different calculus in choosing where to live and how much to pay, and why there is some degree of housing cost burden across income groups. 

Low-income housing is in short supply across the region. Low-income households are competing with higher-income households for affordable units, and often stretching their budgets to do so.

At the most basic level, there are not enough units that low-income people can afford. This is a supply problem. But when one considers the mountain of housing available to moderate- and high-income earners, the issue moves beyond supply and raises questions about low wages and the minimal growth in income over the past few decades. The shortage of affordable housing in the region is not only a supply problem, but also an issue of income.

1. Some housing units are vacant and may be uninhabitable.
2. Household income groups are calculated by HUD and use both family size and a percentage of the Median Family Income (MFI) to determine Income Limit Category. You can learn more  here .

• 2015 – 2019 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data from the U.S. Census Bureau