We know that the cost of rent is high. Now, United Way Suncoast has put together a dashboard that puts the figures that explain the affordable housing crisis in one place.
The dashboard contains data about rental rates, eviction filings, and available emergency rent assistance in the Tampa Bay area.
It covers five counties: Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Sarasota, and DeSoto.
The organization used six weeks of data from various sources, including the U.S. Treasury and the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies to launch the dashboard.
UWS Director of Workforce Development and Financial Stability Douglas Griesenauer said the information will be updated regularly.
“Updating the data varies by area by site and source,” he said. “So for example, the apartment data that we're tracking is updated monthly; U.S. housing data is also updated monthly, but U.S. Treasury has a bit of a delay as they clean their data.”
An important initial finding, Griesenauer added, is that many two-income households in the area are severely rent cost-burdened.
“Ideally, people should be spending about 30% of their income on housing,” he said. “And if that's the case, we know that at our current minimum wage of $10 an hour, two full-time earners are considered severely cost-burdened to get the average rent across our region, which is $1,900 a month.”
Recent Florida legislation raised the minimum wage of workers from $10 to $15 an hour. However, this will happen incrementally and will not reach $15 until Sept. 30, 2026.
Additionally, Grisenauer said the data shows that eviction filings have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Grisenauer wants people to be aware of these statistics, especially legislators.
“The scope and the magnitude of these crises really impacts a large swath of our community,” he said.
For those struggling with rent prices, Grisenauer encourages them to seek out resources in their communities.
“Most counties still have emergency rental assistance funds that are out there that can help them secure rent, it does take some time to apply for and to receive, but they can get sometimes 12 or up to 18 months of rent depending on their county,” he said.
Other potential assistance includes United Way's eviction mitigation supports or local 211 services.
