There are many challenges in finding affordable housing in New Orleans. Rents and home prices have risen significantly, as have property taxes and other housing costs, while wages remain stagnant. Here’s a look at the current landscape of housing and income:
- 64% of renters in New Orleans paying more than a third of their income for housing
- 34.6% of employed women in Louisiana work low or minimum wage jobs.
- 56% of single-mother families in New Orleans live in poverty.
- The eviction rate in New Orleans is 5.2%, nearly double the national average.
- A minimum wage worker must work 138 hours a week to afford an average 3-bedroom apartment in New Orleans.
Data taken from studies by JPNSI and Loyola University New Orleans, Greater New Orleans Foundation, NLIHC, the NHC, and Harvard University’s State of the Nation’s Housing report.
“If I were still renting, I would not have had the time or resources to go back to school full time. This has happened within months of becoming a homeowner. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” – Shawna, Habitat Homebuyer