Housing

What ‘Home’ Means to Residents in the Houston Area

This snapshot explores the ways in which area residents conceptualize "home."

‘Vulnerable people in vulnerable places’: How costs and climate collide in Houston’s housing system

More than half a million residents in Harris County and Houston live in neighborhoods facing a triple threat of flooding, extreme heat and poor air quality, according to a new analysis by the Center for Housing and Neighborhoods at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Webinar: 2025 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston

This webinar will share findings from the forthcoming 2025 State of Housing report. A panel discussion will follow.

The 2025 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston

The 2025 State of Housing report highlights Harris County and Houston’s intersecting challenges around affordability, flooding, extreme heat, poor air quality, insufficient housing stock, and the rising cost of insurance to protect households from these vulnerabilities.

Q&A: New Houston Housing Authority CEO Jamie Bryant seeking to fast-track affordability

About 1 in 6 Harris County residents believe the cost of housing is the biggest problem facing the area, according to the 2025 Kinder Houston Area Survey. Amid federal budget uncertainty, the new CEO of the Houston Housing Authority says local solutions and resources will matter even more.

Kinder Institute Luncheon 2025

The 2025 Kinder Institute Luncheon will celebrate the institute's 15th anniversary. Findings from the 44th Kinder Houston Area Survey will also be shared.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, explained

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the largest federal initiative in the U.S. aimed at creating affordable rental housing, resulting in millions of units nationally, including tens of thousands in Harris County.

Underfunded and imperfect, vouchers are an important piece of Houston’s housing affordability

The Houston Housing Authority (HHA) serves about 19,000 households with housing choice vouchers. The Harris County Housing Authority (whose service area excludes Houston, Pasadena and Baytown) supports another 4,500 households with vouchers. Collectively, that is nearly 10 times as many households as are served by public housing, making the voucher program an important — if imperfect — way of providing affordable housing.

Rising cost of utilities adds to housing affordability woes in Harris County

Nearly 70% of Harris County residents faced some level of difficulty affording their housing costs in 2024, according to a Kinder Institute survey. Among those who did, high utility bills were the most common contributing factor.

2024 Storm Impacts in Houston and Harris County: A Descriptive Overview

This brief provides an overview of the cumulative impact extreme weather had on Houston and Harris County residents from late April to early July.

Naturally occurring affordable housing is crucial to Houston’s low-income residents. Preserving it requires action.

In Harris County, about 320,000 low-income households are housing cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their income toward rent. Given the low number of subsidized housing units and vouchers available in the county, this population is increasingly reliant upon “naturally occurring affordable housing,” or NOAH.

Rising costs and affordable housing challenges threaten urban areas in Texas

Cities in Texas are in the midst of an escalating housing crisis. Affordability is slipping even in Houston, one of the least expensive large cities in the U.S., said Caroline Cheong, Kinder Institute for Urban Research associate director of housing and neighborhoods.

Kinder Institute Forum: Elizabeth Korver-Glenn and Sarah Mayorga

Sociologists Elizabeth Korver-Glenn and Sarah Mayorga will be in conversation with Kinder Institute Director Ruth N. López Turley about how Houston can better guide neighborhood investment.

Public housing is effectively over in Houston. What comes next?

In September, the Houston Housing Authority announced it is ending public housing, following a national trend, as cities such as Chicago and Atlanta have also done so, with previously government-run developments being converted to federally subsidized but privately owned mixed-income communities with fewer affordable units.

Housing Affordability and Instability

Houston-area residents were asked how difficult it was in the past 12 months to afford housing costs, and if certain factors contributed to the difficulty they experienced