Housing Policy Reading Room

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and is a method United Way uses to describe people who earn more than the federal poverty limit yet are still struggling financially. This report contains a trove of useful information people and families face sharing the distressing finding that 36% of Iowans fail to meet the ALICE threshold for being able to afford a basic survival budget as of 2021.

In an ever-changing world, leveraging relevant data is critical to identifying barriers to financial well-being within communities. Guided by the cooperative credit union philosophy of "people helping people", the Iowa Credit Union Foundation is on a mission to champion financial well-being across Iowa. 

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In an effort to support financial institutions and community organizations with actionable data, ICUF has invested in the creation of a statewide report, “Economic Realities of Communities of Color in Iowa”.

Across the U.S., a disproportionate number of minority communities are financially vulnerable (just one missed paycheck or accident away from a crisis). This Report provides further context to these figures nationwide and within Iowa. Our research shows that Iowa households of Color are more than twice as likely as White households to live with an income below the federal poverty level.

Nuestro Iowa examines data about Iowa's Latinx community. It provides an in-depth look at topics like housing, education, and more.

The aim of this project was to emphasize health in a long-range plan for housing in Greater Des Moines. This project piggybacked on the Polk County Housing Trust Fund’s (PCHTF) planning efforts to obtain community perceptions on housing-related issues for Housing Tomorrow (HT), the region’s first plan for affordable housing (The Tomorrow Plan, 2014). Using secondary data and responses to key interviews, this project produced a survey tool designed to collect specialized health data related to housing in Greater Des Moines. This project fulfilled requirements of a planning capstone through its strategic approach to public participation and emphasis on advocacy planning. Additionally, its focus on population health and consideration of social determinants as risk factors met the requirements of a public health capstone.

About one third of residents in Greater Des Moines live in a census tract identified as an environmental justice area as identified by the Des Moines Area MPO.

The primary impetus for this study is the hypothesis that existing housing needs assessments do not fully capture either the existing affordable housing supply or affordable housing need in Polk County. Therefore the primary research question asks: To what extent does the existing supply of affordable housing in Polk County match with the existing need for affordable housing?

This study assesses a range of data sources toward the development of a more comprehensive inventory of the affordable housing market in Polk County, IA. From the assessment we will propose a methodology for cost-effective, periodic inventory, and test the methodology using several neighborhoods within the study area.

The Iowa Association of Realtors provides a comprehensive overview of what's happening in Iowa's residential real estate market. Especially if your interest is in single family homes, you'll find useful data about prices, inventory, sales trends, and more.

Housing markets in the Midwest have tipped into undersupply, bringing consequences previously reserved for coastal markets closer to home.

This PCHTF white paper explores why location is key for success in developing affordable housing.

In housing, it is essential to "disaggregate the data," splitting apart common housing indicators to see disparities that exist in our community according to race and ethnicity, among other factors. The National Equity Atlas is billed as "America's most detailed report card on racial and economic equity." It contains searchable indicators on a variety of factors related to the economic inclusion of communities of color - and much more.

Updated annually, the headline number from Out of Reach is always the estimate of the hourly wage a person needs to earn in order to afford a modest 2 bedroom apartment. This year, for Iowa as a whole, it's $16.55/hour. 

But the data in this report goes deeper-our state profile allows you to see which common occupations in Iowa earn enough to comfortably afford housing, and which dont.  The upshot? Tens of thousands of jobs in Iowa do not support finding a place to live without financial strain.

Learn about barriers to equitable housing in our region, and strategies for reducing them.

The Cost of Living in Iowa report is similar to the MIT Living Wage Calculator but is produced by an Iowa-based nonprofit, Common Good Iowa. An advantage this report has over others, however, is its estimate of the tax burden and benefits Iowa families would receive.

The Iowa Profile is one of the most comprehensive resources for housing data imagineable for Iowa communities. We often say if someone recommends your community take on a housing study, you might find The Iowa Profile has already done the work for you.

Provided by our state's housing finance agency, the Iowa Finance Authority, this resource contains extremely detailed housing data for the state as a whole as well as every county and a huge number of Iowa cities. While we appreciate the interactive data viewer, through the "reports" section of the profile's website, it is possible to download a more traditional PDF report view of the data that might be more accessible for some users. (Although be advised: The file sizes can be very large.)

The Tomorrow Plan is "the one that started it all" for a generation of planning and urban design-focused community members in Greater Des Moines. The plan took a sustainability focused approach to envisioning how the region will change as its population nears one million people.

Access to quality, affordable housing powers our region's economy.

An analysis of the 2019 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) special tabulations representing a snapshot of the low-income rental market prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This first-of-its-kind analysis provides a snapshot of the local rental housing market prior to the outbreak.

One of the Trust Fund's most popular resources, this chart is updated annually to show how percentages of area median income (AMI) translate into real household incomes, and what rents are affordable to households earning different incomes.

Children in low-income families are more likely to move frequently, which can have negative effects on their educational achievement. Frequent moves can disrupt children's education by making it difficult to make friends, adjust to new schools, and stay on track academically. Affordable housing can help to stabilize children's lives and improve their educational outcomes.

Get an overview of how the regional multifamily rental market is performing, including rent trends by Des Moines metro area sub-markets and information about what new properties are coming online in the market soon.

The primary impetus for this study is the hypothesis that existing housing needs assessments do not fully capture either the existing affordable housing supply or affordable housing need in Polk County. Therefore the primary research question asks: To what extent does the existing supply of affordable housing in Polk County match with the existing need for affordable housing?

This study assesses a range of data sources toward the development of a more comprehensive inventory of the affordable housing market in Polk County, IA. From the assessment we will propose a methodology for cost-effective, periodic inventory, and test the methodology using several neighborhoods within the study area.

Housing Tomorrow is the region's comprehensive overview of affordable housing strategy.

Provides a detailed look at the data surrounding affordability and the dream of homeownership for Iowa residents.

MIT uses data about typical household expenses in an area to calculate a living wage - the amount of money a person needs to earn to fully support his or herself and their family. Calculations are available for counties, metro areas, or states. You are able to see a variety of houeshold configurations, such as how the situation changes for a single adult living alone, versus a single parent or dual-income earning household.

Learn about the economic and social disparities affecting Black Polk County.

We frequently rely on this database as a way of showing whether the income people and families earn at their jobs is sufficient to afford the rent in our community. Using Paycheck to Paycheck you can search among almost 150 different occupations to see what type of housing typical wages will support.

This PCHTF white paper discusses the negative perceptions of affordable housing and how to overcome them.

This annual report on national housing trends is always a must read.

Learn about our state's challenge supporting extremely low income renters.

The report examines the current state of low-income students in Polk County, Iowa. It finds that there is a significant achievement gap between students who qualify for Free and Reduced Priced Lunch (F/R PL) and those who do not. The report also finds that there is a significant difference in academic performance between the Des Moines Public Schools and the surrounding suburban school districts. The report proposes inclusionary zoning as a possible solution to this problem. Inclusionary zoning would require developers to include a certain percentage of affordable housing units in new developments. The report also discusses other possible solutions, such as investing in underprivileged schools and providing rental assistance to low-income families.

Commissioned by PCHTF and local governments, this report looks at the types of jobs growing in Des Moines and creates a forecast for future housing demand based on increased jobs coming to the region.