New Study Finds High Home Prices Linked to Higher Homelessness Rates in U.S. Metros

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Jul 12, 2023, 08:39 ET

Metro areas with home values higher than the typical U.S. home have homeless rates 2.5x higher than areas with lower-than-average home values.

ST. LOUIS, July 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- There's a clear correlation between a lack of affordable housing and high rates of homelessness in America's biggest cities, according to new research from Home Bay, an online publication owned by Clever Real Estate that connects readers with expert real estate advice.

The report analyzed the 50 most-populous U.S. metros to determine the connection between home values and homelessness rates.

Cities With High Homeless Rates Have High Rent Prices

Cities With the Highest Homeless Rates Have Home Values More Than Double the National Average

The cities with the highest rates of homelessness per 100,000 people are:

San Jose, California (636.8)
San Francisco, California (508.8)
Los Angeles, California (501)
Sacramento, California (415.7)
Seattle, Washington (408.9)
New York, New York (340.7)
San Diego, California (256.4)
Las Vegas, Nevada (246.2)
Portland, Oregon (240.3)
Denver, Colorado (231.6)
Hartford, Connecticut (192)
Phoenix, Arizona (182.5)

These 12 metros have a combined average homelessness rate of 347 per 100,000 people — almost 2x higher than the national average (176 per 100,000 people).

Meanwhile, the typical home value in these metros is 118% higher than the typical value in cities with lower-than-average homelessness — $670,000 vs. $308,000. These cities also have typical monthly rent values almost $700 higher than the national average — $2,274 vs. $1,596.

San Jose, California, has both the highest rate of homelessness and the highest home prices of any major U.S. metro. Home values in San Jose are 4.5x the national average, at $1.39 million, and the homelessness rate is a whopping 3.5x the national average (636.8 per 100,000 residents).

The 10 metros with the lowest homeless rates per 100,000 residents are:

Atlanta, Georgia (32.8)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (37.4)
Chicago, Illinois (40.7)
Houston, Texas (43.3)
Cincinnati, Ohio (47.8)
Detroit, Michigan (51)
Richmond, Virginia (52.6)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (53.1)
Charlotte, North Carolina (65.2)
Buffalo, New York (73.6)

The five cities with the lowest homeless rates also have home values 15% lower than the U.S. average ($255,860 vs. $301,466).

Surprisingly, poverty rates are not a good indicator of homeless rates. New Orleans has the highest poverty rate (18.4%) of any city we examined but has a homeless rate half the national average (96 per 100,000 people). This may indicate that, because of a low cost of living, residents can better afford housing despite lower incomes.

Read the full report at: homebay.com/home-values-vs-homeless-2023

About Home Bay

Home Bay is a web-property of Clever Real Estate, an online platform that connects home buyers and sellers with top-rated agents at a discount rate.

Please contact Alyssa Evans at [email protected] with any questions or for an interview.

CONTACT:
Alyssa Evans
PR Strategist
Clever Real Estate
315-690-1518

SOURCE Home Bay