Palmetto State News

Many South Carolinians already were housing insecure before coronavirus and the pandemic hasn't helped, according to a State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) official and recent report.

It isn't getting any easier or cheaper to find a good rental in the state, SC Housing Chief Research Officer Bryan P. Grady tweeted July 14.

"To afford a basic two-bedroom apartment in South Carolina, a full-time worker must earn $18.08/hour," Grady wrote. "But the average renter only makes $13.97/hour. That $4.11 'housing wage gap' is a problem not just for household budgets, but also for our state's economic development."

The state completed a housing needs assessment in 2019 before the pandemic hit in 2020, and South Carolina "has been challenged like never," according to a statement on SC Housing's website.

"One thing that did not change, however, is the reality that the cost of housing is increasing in our state and the amount of money that people earn to pay for housing is not on the same trajectory," the site reads. "Indeed, those in the working class were hit hardest in 2020, as many low-wage service jobs in sectors like hospitality, food service, and personal care were lost due to safety restrictions and reduced demand. The full picture of need is still unclear, but it is substantial."

To get a better picture, the state updated the 2019 needs assessment report, issuing the 2021 report in March.

Among other things, the updated report found that more than 140,000 renting households are experiencing a "severe cost burden" by spending more than half of their gross income on housing - or they have no income at all. 

In 40 of the state's 46 counties, the average South Carolina renter can't afford a basic two-bedroom apartment without over extending their budgets "and most workers in the state's most common occupations are similarly distressed," the report said.

The report also found that about 13,000 public school students do not have a permanent residence, 31% of households live in "shelter poverty," the almost 72,600 available subsidized units is enough to house only 20% of low-income renters and more than 151,000 face eviction.

"We believe that it is important to understand what is driving the housing needs of our state and keep this data in the forefront as we make decisions that impact our neighbors," SC Housing Executive Director Bonita Shropshire said in the updated report. "We continue to look to the needs assessment for help in incentivizing development of affordable housing where it is needed most, particularly in underserved communities."

Housing insecurity is not unique to South Carolina. 

In its own updated report, Out of Reach 2021, the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that in no state, metropolitan area or county can a full-time minimum-wage worker make enough to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home. In 93% of U.S. counties, low-income workers cannot afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.

More than 7.5 million extremely low-income renters spend more than half of their incomes on housing, a cost burden that often leads to housing instability and homelessness, according to the Out of Reach 2021. 

More than 226,000 Americans were homeless, sleeping on sidewalks or other unsheltered locations, on any given night last year and another 354,000 experienced homelessness in emergency shelters.

More than 2.7 million renters in the U.S. live in overcrowded housing conditions, which has made social distancing tricky, but not impossible.