DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
The City of Austin has experienced rapid growth for more than two decades. Since 1990, 150,000 new people have made Austin home - an average of 50 new residents every day for eight years. This growth is projected to continue steadily for the next decade with the metropolitan area reaching 1.5 million residents shortly after 2010. Currently, the Travis County population is estimated to be over 645,000 (Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 1999).
- There are approximately 58,690 Austin households that have unmet housing needs (Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, August 1999);
- Three out of five poor families pay more than one half of their income for rent, while housing that costs more than 30 percent of gross income is considered to be unaffordable (Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, August 1999);
- Currently, about 40,000 households (97,000 people) live in substandard homes that lack adequate kitchen and bath facilities ("Through the Roof", July 1999);
- Approximately 11,000 households (27,000 people) live in overcrowded conditions ("Through the Roof", July 1999);
- 27 percent of Texas households (1.9 million) will need some form of housing assistance by the year 2000 ("Embrace Housing Bills", January 1998).
Approximately 12.9 percent, or 87,177 Travis County residents, live at or below the poverty level. The Texas Department of Human Services estimates that there are up to 200,000 working poor in Travis County (defined as living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty income guideline).
Table 3.
1999 Federal Poverty Guidelines by Annual Income
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FAMILY SIZE
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100% OF POVERTY
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150% OF POVERTY
|
185% OF POVERTY
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200% OF POVERTY
|
|
2
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$11,060
|
$16,590
|
$20,461
|
$22,120
|
|
3
|
$13,880
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$20,820
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$25,678
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$27,760
|
|
4
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$16,700
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$25,050
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$30,895
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$33,400
|
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1999.
Although poverty is definitely an indicator of the magnitude of the housing problem in Travis County, even residents who make more than 200 percent of the poverty level are having problems finding affordable housing. More and more of the working poor are finding that their wages do not support the cost of living in Travis County. In fact, because there is such a housing shortage, people of all income levels are experiencing the effects of the housing crisis in the Austin area.
Figure 4.
Travis County Median Household Income by Zip Code, 1998
Source: Compiled by Travis County Research and Planning from Sourcebook America 1998, CACI Marketing Systems.
As is shown in Figure 4, the wealthiest neighborhoods are concentrated west of IH-35. However, as was mentioned previously, these are the areas with the fewest numbers of homes. This division also mirrors the appraisal values shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Residential Property Tax Appraisals in Travis County, 1998
Source: Austin American Statesman, May 1998.
HOMEOWNERSHIP
Texas homeownership rates are low (62.5%) in comparison to national rates of 66.3 percent, and 1998 Austin rates are even lower at 54.8 percent ("Through the Roof", July 1999). Although these low rates of ownership are partially due to the affordability problem, there are other reasons that Austin has low home-ownership rates. First, the 48,000 University of Texas students and more than 3,000 St. Edwards University students are rarely homeowners, which may skew homeownership rates. Secondly, the housing affordability rates are lower in the Austin Metropolitan area than in other larger cities in Texas. And finally, the average age of Travis County residents is 28, which may mean that a large percentage of the population hasn't reached a point in their lives yet where they are ready to commit to living in Austin on a permanent basis. Many of the high-tech computer firms in the area recruit young professionals, who are typically very mobile.
RENTERS
Approximately 60 percent of Austin households rent their homes. The typical renter has a lower income and pays a larger percentage of his or her income on housing than a homeowner (Austin Consolidated Plan, 1995). An hourly wage of at least $10, which far exceeds the minimum wage, is required to afford a modest one bedroom Austin apartment.
Those most in need of housing are low-income households, homeless persons, persons with HIV/AIDS, the disabled, people with special needs, and people living in houses with lead based paint (Austin Consolidated Plan, 1995).
ELDERLY
There are approximately 52,000 Travis County residents that are ages 65 and older, 10 percent of whom are living below poverty, according to projections by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The following table shows the impact of housing expenses for elderly who rent.
Table 4.
Impact of Housing Expenses on Elderly Travis County Residents
| |
MAXIMUM SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT (1996)
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AMOUNT OF SOCIAL SECURITY LEFT AFTER FAIR MARKET RENT
|
|
For Aged Individual
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$470
|
$33
|
|
For Aged Couple
|
$705
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$202
|
Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, 1999.
DISABLED
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission estimates that there are more than 52,000 working age people with disabilities in the Austin Metropolitan Area. This population often has similar housing demands when compared to the frail elderly. They are in need of units that are accessible, and often need supportive services in their living environments.
HOMELESS
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In 1997, an estimated 6,000 homeless persons lived in Austin-Travis County over the course of a year (Troxell, House the Homeless). On any given day, there are approximately 3,600 homeless persons in the area. For these individuals there are only 435 emergency shelter beds available (Austin and Travis County, Texas: 1999 Consolidated Application for HUD SuperNOFA Continuum of Care Assistance). Local and national trends indicate that the fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families. Austin/Travis County MHMR estimates that 50 percent of the homeless population suffers from severe and persistent mental illness.
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A recent survey by the Austin Area Homeless Coalition suggests that for every homeless person with shelter, there are 13 without shelter.
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Currently the need for shelter and transitional housing is greater than what is available in the community. The Salvation Army shelter, the largest in the County, typically operates at 90 percent of capacity or above. On extremely cold nights, Austin's church based emergency shelters open their doors to approximately 80 additional homeless. The Salvation Army is expanding to serve almost 300 persons above capacity. For families, the lack of shelter is a yearlong problem. In 1998, the Salvation Army and SafePlace, the two primary providers of emergency shelter for families, turned away over 3,000 women and children due to a lack of space (Austin and Travis County, Texas: 1999 Consolidated Application for HUD SuperNOFA Continuum of Care Assistance). Emergency and transitional housing issues will be explored in greater detail in the Homeless Assessment, scheduled to be released in 2000.
