Affordable housing means a safe, decent place to live at a price you can afford. Some of us can afford what the current market provides. But for those of us working at lower wage jobs, on fixed incomes, or with disabilities, market rate housing is out of reach.

Policymakers define housing as affordable when a family pays no more than 30 percent of its total income on rent and utilities; or, if they own their home, 30 percent on mortgage payment, insurance, taxes and utilities. This definition is widely used by local, state and federal governments to recognize that households must use their incomes to pay for other expenses, such as food, clothing, health care, child care and transportation.

Are Incomes Keeping Up with Housing Costs?
The East Bay is part of one of the wealthiest consumer markets in the world and one of the major economic centers of the "new economy." Yet, many working families are being left out as this "new economy" produces more and more low-paying jobs with wages that have either been stagnant or falling.

The California Budget Project estimates that for a family of two parents supporting two children, both must earn $13 per hour at full time jobs to make ends meet. According to the most recent projections by the California Employment Development Department, of the top 10 jobs with the most growth, half pay less that $12 an hour.

How many hours would these employees have to work each week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the fair market rent of $1,155?