Street Spirit December 2005

Facts on Housing and Homelessness in San Diego

There are 2,000 evictions a month in San Diego because of escalating rent costs. The average apartment rent in San Diego is $1,210 -- a nearly 100 percent increase from 1990 (when average rents were $643). Nearly 50 senior citizens a month join the homeless on city streets because their incomes do not keep pace with rent increases.

In San Diego County, 20 percent of renter households spend at least 50 percent of their income on housing; while 172,000 employees (13 percent of the workforce) earn less than $8.35 an hour. San Diego County's high housing prices, coupled with its relatively low wages, make it the second least affordable area in the country. In San Diego, 29 percent of residents are considering moving because of the cost of housing.

In the City of San Diego, 28,000 families are on a waiting list for Federal HUD Section 8 housing vouchers. Another 11,000 are on a waiting list for local Housing Commission emergency rental assistance. This city program each year runs out of funds during the first seven weeks of the fiscal year.

The San Diego region maintains 2,019 shelter beds for an estimated homeless population of over 8,000. The 2006 San Diego City budget calls for a mere 400 transitional housing beds.

Last year, illegal lodging citations increased 21 percent to almost 2,000, up from the 1,477 tickets for 2003. This year, so far, 2,500 illegal lodging tickets have been issued.

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