‘We need to fix housing’: Harris County affordability gap grows 275% since 2018

The affordability gap in Harris County has increased 275% since 2018, with the median home price increasing from $220,000 to $315,000, according to a June 20 report from the Kinder Institute.

The report, published annually by the Kinder Institute and titled State of Housing in Harris County and Houston in 2024, finds that while housing prices have increased, purchasing power has not, majority of households being unable to earn $100,000 per year.

In 2023, the affordability gap in Harris County was $126,468, according to the report. In 2018, the affordability gap was approximately $33,744, according to the June 20 report.

“We continue to find new ways to say, ‘Look, people, housing is getting more and more expensive and more and more unaffordable,'” said Daniel Potter, senior director of research at the Kinder Institute, during the presentation of the report on June 20.

The breakdown

According to the report, Houston had smaller affordability gaps than other central cities in the metro areas closest to Houston’s population – Dallas, Austin, Chicago and Atlanta. Only San Antonio had a smaller affordability gap than Houston. Harris County had the smallest affordability gap of all central urban counties. The affordability gaps for US cities similar to Houston in terms of population are:

• Austin: $355,600
• Atlanta: $203,565
• Dallas: $146,761
• Chicago: $126,423
• Houston: $106,567
• San Antonio: $74,506

Although Houston is relatively more affordable than other major U.S. cities, it still ranks second in the nation in terms of affordable housing supply, according to a March report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

According to the report, there are 33,000 units of affordable housing available for rent for more than 217,000 extremely low-income renters in the Houston area.
“We have to solve the housing problem,” Mike Nichols, director of community development and housing for the city of Houston, said during the June 20 presentation. “In other countries and other cities around the world, they do a better job. … We will get there (very little homelessness and adequate housing) if we focus on housing and make sure there is adequate funding, which is not the case now.”

Dive Deeper

Homeowner households in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have increased 58% and 48%, respectively, since 2010, compared to a 20% increase since 2010 in Harris County, according to the June 20 report.