A Harris County housing survey conducted by Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research has recently found that approximately 500,000 Harris County residents are paying more for their houses than they can afford, according to a Houston Public Media report.

The survey, which was conducted from June 2020 to March 2021, revealed that all of these households currently earn less than $75,000 per year and are considered "cost-burdened," which means that 30% or more of their income is spent on housing.

“They’re deciding whether they can pay their rent, or they’re going to buy food. Whether they can pay for child care, and go to work, or are they going to pay for their rent,” Adrienne Holloway, the executive director of Harris County’s Community Services Department said. “It shouldn’t be that hard."

Additionally, the survey revealed that 53% of 17,510 respondents in Harris County expressed anxiety as to whether rising prices would make it impossible to remain in their house, while 14% reported a desire to relocate but felt unable to do so due to a lack of affordable housing choices.

“Housing disruptions will lead to children performing less well in school, they’ll be more prone to learning disabilities and behavioral problems, and are less likely to graduate from high school than their peers,” said Luis Guajardo, the urban policy research manager at the Kinder Institute.

The survey revealed that many individuals earning less than 60% of the county's median family income of approximately $35,000 worked in low-wage occupations such as fast-food workers, cashiers, and home health and personal care aides.

"There's just not enough (affordable housing) out there,” Guajardo said, “and while the county and public entities are working really hard to bring affordable housing at that level, it’s the scale of the need is just overwhelming and we need to really grapple with that."

According to the study, Harris County needs accessible and affordable housing. It then offers details about what has to be done to improve affordable housing in the county. The overall plan for affordable housing includes investing equally in all communities, ensuring regular and accessible access to services, and designing homes to be more hazard-resilient.

Additionally, the report states that 20,000 additional units would be needed annually to meet housing demand while maintaining reasonable housing rates.