SEATTLE — A new report suggests affordable housing may be out of reach for nearly one-third of teachers.
That’s according to research released Thursday from Apartment List, which tracks apartment listings and prices. The report found 26.9 percent of teachers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metro area are burdened by housing costs, which means they’re paying more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing.
The percent of cost-burdened teachers has actually dropped over the last 20 years – in 2000, Apartment List calculated that 28 percent of teachers were cost burdened – but the gap has increased between teachers and other workers with the same level of education. Those employees saw a 4-percentage point decrease in workers who are cost burdened.
Educators who own their homes may have it slightly better than those who rent. The report found the percentage of teachers who are cost burdened and own their homes is about half that of teachers who rent.
Teacher salaries are also not keeping pace with the salaries of their non-teacher peers. Between 2000 and 2017, teacher salaries increased 57.4 percent compared to 70 percent for other workers with similar education levels.
Meanwhile, housing costs in Seattle continue to climb and haven’t kept pace with teacher salaries. In 2017, the median rent in Seattle was $1,600, which more than doubled since 2000.
Seattle isn’t alone in the struggle for affordable housing. Teachers in 20 of the 25 largest metros are more cost burdened than non-teachers, according to the report, and Seattle ranked sixth worst for affordability.
