This report presents new data illustrating how the combination of rising rents and stagnant incomes is straining household budgets and stifling opportunity for all but the very wealthy in the nine-county Bay Area, raising serious questions about the sustainability of the region’s economy. The report was developed as part of the Bay Area Equity Atlas partnership between PolicyLink, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California (PERE). Key findings include:

• Between 2000 and 2016, rents increased 24 percent while renter incomes rose just 9 percent.
• There are 480,000 economically insecure renter households in the region that are paying $9,000 too much for housing per year, on average.
• A family of two full-time workers each making $15/hour can only afford market rent in 5 percent of Bay Area neighborhoods.
• 92 percent of these neighborhoods affordable to working-class families are rated "very low opportunity" on a comprehensive index of neighborhood opportunity. 

How are people using this data? The analyses in this report served as the basis for factsheets and maps developed with Working Partnerships, Urban Habitat, and EBASE to support their tenant protection policy campaigns. The Bay Area Economic Council used this data in their report analyzing policy solutions to the housing crisis in Alameda County. KQED Forum host Michael Krasny used it to open up his conversation with housing activist Randy Shaw about his book Generation Priced Out. The Partnership for the Bay's Future used our data to frame the need for investment in housing solutions.

Media mentions: Housing Is Key to Bay Area's Economic Future, Study Finds (Philanthropy News Digest), New Report Examines the Bay Area's Broken Housing Market (Planetizen), World Journal

How much stronger could the economy be if everyone who wanted a job could find one—regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender? This analysis, produced for the Fed Up campaign for Federal Reserve policies that work for communities most left behind by the recovery, estimates the potential economic gains of full employment for all. Find out what the United States economy—and the economies of the 12 metropolitan regions where each Federal Reserve office is located—could look like with true full employment for all.

Media: This is how protesters plan to take on the Federal Reserve (Wonkblog)

October 22, 2014

How much could the economy benefit from racial inclusion? This research brief estimates the economic boost of racial inclusion for the largest 150 regions, all 50 states, and the nation. We found that the national economy stands to grow $2.1 trillion every year from racial equity, and that every region in the country would gain millions per year – from $287 million in Springfield, Missouri (the lowest potential gain) to $510 billion in Los Angeles (the highest). Download the brief, press release, or data.