Affordable Housing

In 2014, OCED began the process for updating the county-wide affordable needs assessment. The previous one was completed in 2007, before the housing boom, bust and recovery; resulting in the Housing Affordability and Economic Equity Analysis (PDF). Affordable housing is considered to be housing for an individual or family that costs less than 30% of the annual household income. Learn what's affordable in Washtenaw County (PDF). 

Housing Affordability and Economic Equity

Why We Need It

The Housing Affordability and Economic Equity Analysis for Washtenaw County (2015) notes that Ann Arbor housing costs are expected to increase, making the area of the county with the most jobs, educational opportunities and amenities unaffordable and unavailable to a majority of the county's population. As a result, lower-income residents move to more affordable areas like Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. In the case of low-income renters or owners, that results in a concentration of poverty in several neighborhoods in these communities.

Next Steps

The plan has been adopted by all the jurisdictions in the urban area of the county:

  • Ann Arbor DDA
  • City of Ann Arbor
  • City of Ypsilanti
  • Pittsfield Township
  • Ypsilanti Township

Building off this momentum, a regional leadership group was convened in summer 2015 to begin prioritizing and implementing the recommendations from the study. View Annual Reports and Work Plans.

Past Presentations

  1. April 2015 Presentation (PDF)
  2. Executive Summary (PDF)
  3. October 2014 Presentation (PDF)
  4. Section 1 Data Assessment (PDF)
  5. Section 2 Recommendations (PDF)
  6. Section 3 Data Compendium (PDF)

Additional Information

For more information, email Tara Cohen or call 734-544-3056.