Recent data from the Federal Reserve paints a fairly rosy picture for Houston’s economy — 2% job growth and a 4.2% year-on-year increase in real hourly wages in April.
The thing about numbers, however, is that they always hide something.
A new United Way report finds that the number of Houston-area households struggling to afford essentials has increased by 5%. How does the economy work for the working class in the country’s fourth largest city?
Affordability has long been a selling point for people who want to brave Houston’s heat, humidity and freeways, said Rice University’s Dan Potter.
“Houston historically has an affordable place to live where you can come here and work hard and you could have a middle-class life,” Potter said.
But in a recent annual survey of Houstonians with Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Potter found that optimism about the economy is at its lowest since the 1980s.
“You can see some cracks in the armor there,” he said.
Potter said it was particularly difficult for people without a high school diploma. He blames inflation, particularly the cost of housing: two-thirds of locals could afford to buy a house at an average price a decade ago, compared to just one-third today.
Students and their families are struggling with housing, Daisy Morales said. She directs AAMA charter schools that serve low-income Houstonians.
“They all start living together, add more families or individuals to, you know, family units, and move into less and less desirable areas,” Morales said.
Rev. Ed Gomez has observed a similar trend in public relations at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
“These are not people who are unemployed. These are people who work in the service sector, landscaping, all kinds of janitorial jobs, the cafeteria, and generally the food industry,” Gomez said.
He said his church had to turn around 40 family cars away from the food drive every week. That’s because evictions in Harris County have risen well above pre-pandemic averages, according to data from Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.
“We’re undoubtedly seeing a spike in eviction notices from landlords looking to raise rents from people locked into lower rates, without question,” said Eric Kwartler of Lone Star Legal Aid.
Kwartler said many families are dealing with deaths or other crises and are behind on their bills. If landlords sue them in court, it can become even more difficult to find accommodation in the future.
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