The latest from the Census Bureau: incomes are stagnant, poverty is up, and a red-hot real estate market is leaving Washington’s low-income renters feeling the squeeze.
In 2000, about 34 percent of Washington renters spent 35 percent or more of their income on rent. Last year, about 40 percent of renters did so. Many experts say that 35 percent of income is about the upper limit of what families should spend on housing.
The housing report comes on the heels another Census survey that showed that median incomes in the U.S. stagnated while the number of people in poverty or without health insurance increased.
But in better news, consumer confidence rebounded slightly. (Irony alert: see the previous post for what I really think about consumer confidence.)
