|
<br /> Page 11
<br />Everett 2044 Housing Element Appendix
<br />Category 2: Sensitfve informatfon
<br />This affordability squeeze is hitting the lowest-income residents hardest. As of 2020, only about 6.4% of
<br />Everett’s housing stock was affordable to households earning less than 30% of the Area Median Income
<br />(AMI), and just 24.8% of housing was affordable to those between 30% and 50% of AMI. Together, that
<br />means fewer than one in three housing units in Everett serve households below 50% AMI, even though
<br />this income group represents a substantfal portfon of renters in the city.
<br />The supply shortiall is especially acute for extremely low-income residents. A 2020 analysis showed that
<br />Everett needed over 8,600 additfonal units for households earning below 30% AMI to close the
<br />affordability gap. Without major changes, this need will only grow. Between now and 2044, Everett is
<br />projected to need 38,558 new housing units overall, including nearly 8,700 units affordable to its lowest-
<br />income residents. Yet the current pace of affordable housing productfon is far below what is required.
<br />This disconnect between rising costs and stagnant affordability is shaping the housing landscape in
<br />profound ways. More residents are delaying homeownership, doubling up with family or roommates, or
<br />leaving the city altogether in search of more affordable optfons. For those who stay, the financial strain
<br />oflen means acceptfng substandard or overcrowded housing conditfons—or simply living with the stress
<br />of knowing that one rent increase or unexpected expense could lead to instability or displacement.
<br />Addressing this affordability gap will require a coordinated strategy—one that doesn’t just increase
<br />housing supply, but ensures that new homes are affordable to the people who need them most. That
<br />means expanding subsidies, leveraging tax incentfves, streamlining permitting for deeply affordable
<br />units, and ensuring that future development aligns with the incomes and needs of Everett’s residents.
<br />Without bold actfon, the affordability gap will contfnue to grow, leaving more people priced out of the
<br />city they call home.
<br />Income Gains Mask Unequal Access to Housing
<br />On paper, incomes in Everett have risen steadily over the past decade. From 2010 to 2023, the city’s
<br />median household income climbed from $47,552 to $81,502—a nearly 72% increase. Median earnings
<br />for individual workers rose even more sharply, from $29,836 to $49,049. These figures suggest progress
<br />and upward mobility. But when measured against Everett’s skyrocketfng housing costs, the reality
<br />becomes clear: income gains have not translated into broader access to housing. For many residents,
<br />especially those working in lower-wage occupatfons or living in communitfes of color, the housing ladder
<br />remains out of reach.
<br />The affordability gap has widened as the cost of living outpaces earnings. In 2023, the median household
<br />income stfll fell short of the income needed to afford a median-priced home. According to Census data, a
<br />household needed to earn over $132,000 to reasonably afford Everett’s 2023 median home value of
<br />$532,300—leaving a shortiall of more than $50,000 for the typical household. That gap is even starker
<br />for individual workers, whose median annual earnings covered just 37% of what’s needed to buy a
<br />home.
<br />While high-paying industries such as technology, healthcare, and management have seen significant
<br />wage growth—some occupatfons have doubled their median earnings since 2015—many of Everett’s
<br />workers remain in modestly paid jobs. Occupatfons in food service, personal care, building maintenance,
<br />and retail contfnue to pay between $19,000 and $40,000 annually, even as rent and mortgage costs
<br />demand far more. A food service worker earning $23,000 a year would need to spend nearly 90% of
<br />their income to afford a median-priced rental. These workers oflen form the backbone of Everett’s
<br />service economy, yet they face the highest barriers to stable housing.
<br />These disparitfes are also tfed to race and ethnicity. Households of color, partfcularly Black and Latfno
<br />families, contfnue to earn less on average than white households, further reducing their ability to
|