Appendix D: Methodology for Priced Out in 2006 Study

 

Priced Out in 2006 assesses housing affordability for people with disabilities receiving SSI across the United States.  To complete this assessment, five separate data sets were used:

 

1.           The final HUD Fair Market Rents (FMRs) effective October 1, 2006 for each state, county, and housing market area in the United States.  These rent limits are based on the cost of modest rental housing and are calculated annually by HUD for use in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. A housing unit at the Fair Market Rent is meant to be modest, not luxurious, costing less than the typical unit of that bedroom size in that city or county.  The FMRs used in Priced Out in 2006 can be found on HUD’s website at www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html.

 

2.           2006 median incomes for one-person households used by HUD to determine the income limits for federal housing programs including the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program, and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.  Data on annual HUD income limits is available on HUD’s website at: www.huduser.org/datasets/il.html.

 

3.           2006 SSI payments for individuals with disabilities living independently from the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics of the U.S. Social Security Administration. The SSI payment is made up of the federal SSI payment of $603 in 2006, plus the optional state supplement in the 21 states that uniformly provide a state-determined, state-funded additional amount to all SSI recipients who live independently in the community.

 

4.           The Housing Wage computed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition as part of their 2006 publication, Out of Reach: 2006.

 

5.           Renter household information also provided by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.  Data included in Priced Out in 2006 has been weighted to reflect the number of renter households residing in each housing market area of the country in order to provide the most accurate information possible.