A new community-wide health assessment by Austin Public Health concludes that steep housing costs are among the key factors straining the health and well-being of local residents.
For the 2025 Austin-Travis County Community Health Assessment, APH collaborated with other local health organizations to broadly study the area’s health challenges.
The report’s authors pointed to rapid population growth, limited housing supply and rising property values exacerbating affordability issues in recent years. They observed that someone would need to earn $31.27/hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Austin at fair market rent as of 2023 — more than four times the minimum wage. U.S. Census estimates show that 36% of Austin households spend 30% or more of their income on housing — a greater percentage than at the state level…