Housing Affordability and Family Self-Sufficiency
Connecting housing affordability and costburden in Marion County , a pattern reveals larger challenges ( Figure 17 ). The households that are not cost-burdened have additional resources to spend on their education , save toward retirement , engage in enriching activities , or otherwise accumulate resources .
Those that are cost-burdened may have trouble meeting basic needs or determining which bills to pay . Furthermore , these families may end up spending additional resources if they are living in housing of lesser quality ( e . g ., whereas a housing secure family may replace an inefficient HVAC system or insulate their home , the cost-burdened family — without resources to upgrade housing systems — may spend additional money in heating costs each month ).
The benefits of not being cost-burdened can lead to a virtuous cycle in which a family can increase future opportunities ; being cost-burdened can result in a vicious cycle in which those activities become more and more out of reach .
Figure 17 . Cost-Burden by Income Cohort , Marion County
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
-0
-20,000
-40,000
-60,000
-80,000 |
< $ 20,000 $ 20,000 to
$ 34,999
|
$ 35,000 to $ 49,999 |
$ 50,000 to $ 74,999 |
> $ 75,000 |
|
Not Cost Burdened |
|
Cost Burdened |
|
Source : American Community Survey , 5-year estimates ( 2009-2014 ), Table B25106
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