Two trends are converging in Southeastern Wisconsin that are raising the specter of housing instability for older adults. First, the proportion of the population older than 55 is growing. Second, incomes for older adults are likely to decline as they age, with their fixed income often being inadequate to support their housing costs. In the absence of policy action, these trends will exacerbate an affordable housing crisis for older adults.
To shine light on these issues, the Social IMPACT Research Center assessed the affordable housing needs of older adults in Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties in Wisconsin. The report documents the affordable housing gap in Southeastern Wisconsin for older adults, and details the services that the growing aging population will most need.
The report’s findings include:
- The share of older adults in Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties is growing, part of a trend Wisconsin-wide. From 2010 to 2040, the percentage of adults over 55 as a share of the total population in Wisconsin is anticipated to rise from 26% to 35%. In Kenosha, it will likely rise from 22% in 2010 to 31% in 2040; in Milwaukee, from 22% to 28%; and in Racine, from 25%.
- Older adults in these three counties have special needs that make them vulnerable to housing instability, increasing their need for affordable housing. Older adults face declining incomes and increasing rates of disability, both of which can lead to housing instability and potentially damaging financial trade-offs. As people age, the possibility they will have a disability rises. Older adults with disabilities have a higher poverty rate than those without a disability.
- Older adults in Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties are facing steep rent burdens. About half of older adult renters in Racine and Milwaukee and two in five in Kenosha spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs, compared to 40% in Wisconsin overall. Eighteen percent of older renters in Kenosha, 26% in Milwaukee, and 30% in Racine spend half or more of their income on housing, both higher than the Wisconsin average of 18%.
- The current count of subsidized housing units is inadequate for older adults’ housing needs. There are 12,044 subsidized housing units available to the thousands of older Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine residents. Eighty-eight percent of those units are in Milwaukee County, and only 147 units are available in Racine County. In Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties, HUD-202 units designed specifically for older adults make up less than a tenth of the available stock of affordable housing.
Based on these findings, we developed a set of recommendations, including:
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- Affordable housing developers should consider the diverse needs of a spectrum of older adults in Southeastern Wisconsin, including: Older adults living in poverty: Over 38,000 adults over 55 in Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties live in poverty, according to 2019 data.
- Older adults experiencing rent and ownership burdens: The rates of rent burdens are higher in these three counties than in the rest of Wisconsin, despite many market units being fairly priced.
- Older adults with disabilities: 26% of adults over 55 have a disability in Kenosha County, 29% in Milwaukee County, and 28% in Racine County.
- Affordable older adult housing must have services. In order to be sustainable and well-managed, affordable housing for older adults needs to have an on-site supportive services component to ensure the ability to age in place.
- There is an opportunity for Heartland Housing to provide age-appropriate housing for older adults in the three counties. The current housing stock in Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties is old, with most of it built before 1979. The age of the housing makes modifications to help older adults age in place difficult.
- Affordable housing isn’t affordable enough. Collaboration with local and federal government is necessary. There must be a source that bridges the gap between what older adults can afford and what it costs to operate affordable housing.
As part of the real-world solution to the problems identified in this report, Heartland Housing is adding to the affordable housing supply for older adults in Southeastern Wisconsin. HH held a ribbon-cutting for its new 37th Street School Apartments in Milwaukee, WI, on Wednesday, October 13. Read the press release.
