July 21, 2020
By CCN STAFF
Residents of the city of San Luis Obispo pay the highest in rent, proportional to their income, in the United States, according to a recent Insurify study.
The study found that 43.43 percent of tenants in SLO are spending more than 50 percent of their gross household income on rent. The median rent in SLO is $ 1,459, while more than 30 percent of the population falls below the poverty line, according to the study.
Two cities in San Luis Obispo County made the list more affordable. In Paso Robles, only 13.49 percent of tenants pay more than 50 percent of their household income for rent, followed by Atascadero with 14.18 percent.
The researchers took the estimated number of tenants who paid 50 percent or more of their gross income household income in the past 12 months and compared it to the total number of tenants, in cities with a population of more than 50,000, to calculate your results. The study obtained average gross rental costs and the percentage of the population that falls below the poverty line from the most recent calculations from the American Community Survey and the US Census Bureau.
If a family’s total income is less than its designated poverty line, they are considered to be below the poverty line.
Of the 46,997 SLO residents, 32.4 percent fall below the poverty line, according to Data USA. Of these, Hispanics appear to have a disproportionate impact.
Poverty level by race in SLO in 2017:
White: 84.19 percent of the population and 72.1 percent of those living in poverty.
Asians: 5.80 percent of the population and 5.3 percent of those living in poverty
Hispanics: 3.20 percent of the population and 13.6 percent of those living in poverty
Black or African American: 2.20 percent of the population and 2.45 percent of those living in poverty
With an 11.2 percent unemployment rate in San Luis Obispo County, driven primarily by the coronavirus pandemic, many residences struggle to pay their rent. In SLO County, tenants affected by the pandemic are protected from eviction for up to 90 days after Governor Gavin Newsom lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency.
County officials recommend that those who are unable to pay rent on time due to the pandemic, work with their owners on a payment plan.
