DuPage County Is Facing an Affordable Housing Crisis

• Housing Prices Out of Reach.  Despite the modest drop in median sales prices, the 2008 median sales price for a single-family home in DuPage County remains the highest in the state.¹ The median value for a single-family home in DuPage was $329,000 in the second quarter of 2008.
  
  
• Housing Prices Outpace Incomes.  Median single-family sales prices rose over 63% between 2000 and 2007. However, median incomes rose only 8.2% between 2000 and 2007.²
  
  
• Homeowners and Renters Struggle.  About 44% of DuPage renters are cost-burdened, paying 30% or more of their incomes on rent. About 36% of DuPage homeowners are dedicating 30% or more of their incomes on housing costs.³

• Two-Wage Earner Families Struggle.  The combined median salary of a firefighter and an elementary school teacher in DuPage would still not be enough to afford the median home value in DuPage County.⁴
  
  
• Regulatory Barriers Impede Affordability.  A survey of developers and builders in the region revealed that 93% of those surveyed believe that local regulatory barriers impede the development of affordable housing (e.g. restrictive zoning ordinances and burdensome permit requirements).⁵
  
  
• The "Cost" of the Jobs-Housing Mismatch.  According to a study completed by the Boston Consulting Group, the direct costs of the jobs-housing mismatch are $200-$300 million per year in the Chicago region.⁶
  
  
• Housing Shortage = Traffic Congestion.  Since 1970, DuPage has seen a 478% increase in the number of commuters coming into DuPage to work. That’s higher than any of the other five counties in the region, including Cook.⁷
  
  
• Now, almost half of commuters working in DuPage each day come from elsewhere in the region.⁸

¹ Illinois Association of Realtors 2008.
² U.S. Census 2000 and American Community Survey (U.S. Census) 2007; Multiple Listing Service.
³ American Community Survey (U.S. Census) 2007.
⁴ Based on Illinois Department of Employment Security median salary figures for DuPage County 2007.
⁵ Eliminating Barriers: Letting the Market Help Meet Illinois Housing Needs. Business and Professional People for the Public Interest. 2003.
⁶ Recommendations for Developing Attainable Workforce Housing in the Chicago Region. Chicago Metropolis 2020. 2002.
⁷ Commuting in the Chicago Area: Emerging Trends. UIC Urban Transportation Center. 2003.
⁸ Brookings Institution Center on Urban & Metropolitan Policy. New Realities for a New Region: Not Your Parents’ Chicagoland; Presentation to the MacArthur Foundation, October 2003.