Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) has released its third edition of State of the State’s Housing. The 80-page report shows that more than a quarter of Minnesota families pay more than they can afford for housing — and that number is growing. In addition to spotlighting key trends across Minnesota’s 87 counties, like the gap between the costs of housing and the salaries of in-demand jobs, the report also ranks counties on benchmarks like renter cost burden and showcases issues like aging housing stock with dynamic maps. The report also shares stories from communities collaborating to tackle local needs.

Key findings include:

• More affordable housing needed. In Minnesota, there is critical need for housing particularly for extremely low-income renters, or renter households that earn at or under 30% of area median income (AMI). There are approximately 169,585 renter households in the state fall into this category; yet, there are only 64,238 affordable and available units at this income level across the state. This leaves a gap of 105,347 units needed for extremely low-income renters.
• Homeownership disparities persist. Racial disparities in Minnesota are among the worst in the nation. While 77 percent of all white households own their home, 60 percent of Asian, 50 percent of Hispanic, 49 percent of Native American, and just 25 percent of Black households own their homes.
• Housing costs are increasing. Housing costs continue to increase disproportionately to income. Between 2000 and 2019, the median renter income in Minnesota decreased by 1 percent, yet the median gross rent for the state increased by 14 percent.
• Cost burden disparities magnified. The cost-burden disparity for renters and homeowners of color is stark. In Minnesota, 44 percent of white renters are cost burdened; in contrast, 58 percent of Black renters — 82,364 renter households — pay more than they can afford on housing.
• Wages are not keeping up with housing costs. Of the top five in-demand jobs in the state, three do not earn enough for quality housing to be affordable. Relatively low-earning positions central to the healthcare industry, particularly home health and personal care aides and nursing assistants, are expected to see some of the largest increases in demand over the next ten years.

“MHP’s State of the State’s Housing Report 2021 shows that Minnesota has work to do to ensure access to affordable housing for all our neighbors. We have seen how essential housing is to maintaining health, to supporting education for our children, to driving economic growth for our businesses, yet we continue to fall behind in addressing the significant and increasing gaps between housing costs and incomes. This impacts every sector, impacts every family, impacts every region across our state,” said Anne Mavity, Executive Director of Minnesota Housing Partnership. “Our report also highlights how these gaps in housing affordability are particularly and inequitably impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), Minnesotans at the lowest incomes.”

The full report can be accessed here.