Census finds more poverty, higher housing outlay in Vallejo

Census finds more poverty, higher housing outlay in Vallejo
By SHAUNTEL LOWE/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 12/09/2008 02:00:56 AM PST

Census data released today show a marked increase since 2000 in the percentage of Vallejo families living below the poverty level and a steep jump in the proportion of household income devoted to housing costs.

The data, compiled between 2005 and 2007 for the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, also reveals an increase of more than 100 percent in the median value of single-family homes in that time.

(The figures, however, were based on statistics gathered at the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis, and do not reflect current values.)

Since 2000, the percentage of Vallejo families with children under 18 living below the poverty level has risen from 10.3 to 15.5, according to the survey.

In that same period, the percentage of homeowners spending more than 35 percent of their household income on housing costs has climbed from 21.8 to 39.1.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends that no more than 30 percent of a household's gross income go toward housing costs, which include mortgage and property insurance payments.

"If they go up to something like 50 percent or in that range, then it's going to mean that they're not going to be in a position to save money for expenses that come," like car repairs or medical expenses, said Larry Bush, public information officer for the regional HUD office.

Yet, as housing costs have risen over the past decade, Vallejoans have devoted a greater portion of their income to having a place to live.

In 2000, the median value of a single-family home was $166,400, or $200,358.36, adjusted for inflation in 2007 dollars.

But the latest survey shows that the median value of a Vallejo home in 2007 was $451,500. It has fallen, however, to about $240,000, according to DataQuick, a real estate industry monitoring firm.

The median monthly owner costs for homes with a mortgage in 2000 was $1,380, or $1,661.63 in 2007 dollars. In 2007, those same costs were $2,134.

The survey behind these figures, the American Community Survey, has been released annually since 2005 as a complement to the decennial census.

The federal government is already gearing up for the 2010 census by hiring census takers to begin verifying information.

For more information on the survey or becoming a census taker, visit www.census.gov.

Email Shauntel Lowe at slowe@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6835.

Study: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html