Unaffordable Housing [Washington (State)]
State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal · 2025 Full Details
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Full Details
- Title
- Unaffordable Housing [Washington (State)]
- Description
- This data is included as part of the Environmental Health Disparities Version 3.0 map. To see this map, visit our webpage . For more technical information on this map and the model used, visit our technical report (link). Background The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calls a household "cost-burdened" if they spend over 30 percent of their income on housing. Rising rent, lack of housing, and stagnant wages have led to a crisis in housing affordability. Without a financial safety net, emergency expenses or job loss can cause people to lose their homes. Renters and households with less financial opportunity are the most impacted by the housing affordability crisis. Redlining, laws, and practices systematically excluded people of color from home ownership. This has resulted in the housing crisis disproportionately impacting historically minoritized communities. Housing cost burden is related to many of the socioeconomic conditions that affect health and well-being. People trying to find affordable housing may be forced to live in areas with more pollution. As a result, people experiencing housing cost burden are at higher risk of exposure to air pollution and loss of life. People experiencing housing cost burden may have to choose between paying for housing or other necessities. They may also delay medical care and services due to financial insecurity. This can lead to long-term health impacts. Chronic stress from worrying about the ability to pay for housing can also worsen physical and mental health. Evidence Housing cost burdens influence health in many ways. These include financial stress and the unaffordability of basic necessities such as healthy food or health care services [1, 2]. There is a strong link between housing burden and health disparities such as hypertension [3], mental health status [4], and cancer [5]. Increasing income inequality affects how burdened communities are by housing costs [6]. In Washington, 43 percent of all households, and 65 percent of households that are renting, are housing burdened. Data source American Community Survey 5-year estimates, DP04 - Selected Housing Characteristics Methods The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) asks respondents detailed questions on social and economic topics. This measure was developed using census tract-level housing data from the ACS's 2018-2022 5-year estimates. This measure represents the percent of households that report spending over 30 percent of their gross income on housing in the past 12 months. Total housing costs include rent or mortgage, utilities, taxes, insurance, and other housing fees such as condo fees. For more information on how ACS data is collected and processed, refer to ACS General Data Users Handbooks . Data Source Variables Used Calculations Performed* ACS 5-year average, DP04 - Selected Housing Characteristics B25140_001, B25140_003, B25140_004, B25140_007, B25140_008, B25140_011, B25140_012 # Households spending >30% of income on housing: sum( B25140_003, B25140_004, B25140_007, B25140_008, B25140_011, B25140_012) # Housing units: B25140_001 % Households spending >30% of income on housing: sum ( B25140_003, B25140_004, B25140_007, B25140_008, B25140_011, B25140_012 ) / B25140_001 * For margin of error (MOE) calculations, refer to U.S. Census Bureau, A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data Appendix 1 . For MOEs in which we derived either the numerator or denominator of a proportion from multiple ACS variables, see "Calculating MOEs for Aggregated Count Data." For MOEs derived from proportions, see "Calculating MOEs for Derived Proportions." The data table shows the estimate for this variable minus the MOE (lower ME) and the estimate plus the MOE (upper ME). Caveats The measurement of income used for this measure does not reflect noncash benefits such as food stamps, healthcare, and housing assistance. Additionally, studies have shown that non-wage income is typically underreported on the ACS. The margin of error shows how much uncertainty there is about whether the survey data accurately represents the full population. The confidence interval is the estimate plus or minus the margin of error. There is a 90 percent probability that the true population value is within the confidence interval, after accounting for sampling variability. All survey data have some margin of error due to sampling variability. Results from smaller populations are less reliable because of their smaller sample sizes, leading to a larger margin of error. Counts for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations are known to be less reliable. The survey design attempts to address these issues through increased sampling rates in smaller populations and on Tribal lands. The data may also have non-sampling errors, which aren't shown in the tables. These can happen if there are problems with the survey questions, if there are issues with processing or weighting the data, or if certain groups of people don't respond [7]. Individuals with a distrust for government, more concerns about privacy, and who are very busy are less likely to respond to the survey. This measure is aggregated across the census tract and does not represent each individual community within the tract. These data should always be supplemented with local data and equitable engagement for more accurate insights. ACS bundles data in one-year, three-year, or five-year groups to get more reliable results. To have census tract data on all 39 counties in Washington, we use the ACS five-year grouping. Sources Harkness, J., & Newman, S. (2005). Housing affordability and children's well-being: Evidence from the national survey of America's families. Housing Policy Debate, 16(2), 223-55. Meltzer, R., & Schwartz, A. (2015). Housing affordability and health: evidence from New York City. Housing Policy Debate, 26(1), 1-25. Pollack, C., Griffin, B., & Lynch, J. (2010). Housing affordability and health among homeowners and renters. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 39(6), 515-21. Baker, E., Lester, L., Mason, K. et al. (2020). Mental health and prolonged exposure to unaffordable housing: a longitudinal analysis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 55, 715-721. Thompson, C., Nianogo , R., Leonard, T. (2024). Unaffordable housing and cancer: novel insights into a complex question. JNCI Cancer Spectrum. 8(3). 1-3. Dunn, J. (2000). Housing and Health Inequalities: Review and Prospects for Research. Housing Studies, 15(3), 341-66. Pickering, K. (2022, December 9). Nonresponse in census surveys [PDF]. Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. https://apps.bea.gov/fesac/meetings/2022-12-09/Pickering-FESACNonresponse-in-Census-Surveys-12092022.pdf Citation Washington Tracking Network, Washington State Department of Health. Web. "Unaffordable Housing (>30% of Income)". Data obtained from the American Community Survey, 2019-2023, DP04 - Selected Housing Characteristics Data. Published September 2025.
- Creator
- WADOH
- Publisher
- State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal
- Temporal Coverage
- Last Modified: 2025-07-16
- Date Issued
- 2025-07-08
- Rights
- Neither the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), nor any agency, officer, or employee of the WADOH warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity who relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- ArcGIS FeatureLayer
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- February 02, 2026
- Provenance Statement
- The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal on 2026-02-02.
Cite and Reference
-
Citation
WADOH (2025). Unaffordable Housing [Washington (State)]. State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal. https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/53d4aee3503547b1b8b1d808e29866b8_0 (web service) -
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