Phoenix has seen 2nd most affordable housing growth in U.S., study finds

By Mark Carlisle
Mail | X: @mwcarlisle

The Phoenix area has been the second-fastest growing affordable housing market in the country, according to analysis from RentCafe.com.

Phoenix Housing Department Director Titus Mathew touted that statistic last week when presenting to a city council subcommittee.

“Thanks to the mayor and city council’s thoughtful actions, like promoting the development of (affordable) housing on city-owned land, Phoenix is a leader in providing increased affordable housing to our residents,” Mathew told the Community Services and Education Subcommittee on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Phoenix saw a 206% increase in new affordable apartments in the five-year period of 2020 to 2024 compared with the prior five-year period, according to RentCafe. The city added about 4,625 affordable apartments between 2020 and 2024, compared with about 1,510 between 2015 and 2019.

This graphic from RentCafe.com analysis shows Phoenix area was the second-fastest-growing affordable housing market in the country, behind only San Antonio. Phoenix saw a 206% increase in new affordable apartments in the five-year period of 2020-2024 compared to the prior five-year period.

(Courtesy RentCafe.com)

Only San Antonio outpaced Phoenix with a 223% increase. Charlotte, North Carolina, was third with a 191% increase.

In total new affordable apartments created between 2020 and 2024, Phoenix ranked 19th out of 146 U.S. markets that RentCafe analyzed. The top cities were Seattle (14,290), New York (14,240) and Austin, Texas (13,343). No other Arizona markets appeared in the top 20 markets for new gross affordable housing units.

Among those top 20 cities, Phoenix created the fifth-most apartment units in total, adding 73,758 in the five-year span. Only Dallas (107,508), Chicago (107,048), Atlanta (94,471) and Austin, Texas (94,250) had more.

Phoenix City Council set a goal in 2020 of creating or preserving 50,000 units of housing by 2030. That goal was reached in half the time, with 64,000 housing units having been created or preserved in Phoenix as of the end of 2025.

Mathew said available funding from the federal government had remained in place so far but said some funds had an uncertain future.

“My concern of course is some of that money might dry up under this administration, but hopefully not,” Councilmember Debra Stark said.

Some of the biggest help so far, Mathew said, was the city’s own funding efforts, both in allocating COVID-relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act toward affordable housing and prioritizing unused city-owned property to become affordable housing developments.

“We know that city-owned property is one of the vital resources that we can use in combatting some of the issues that we see in our community, and housing — affordable housing, attainable housing — continues to be one of the top issues that we hear from our community,” Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said.

Stark said she hoped this news would be a great opportunity to pursue other incentives to affordable housing. Mathew said going forward that continued funding of the city’s Housing Trust Fund would go a long way.

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Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Meet Mark

Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.

Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library  and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.

Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.

Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.

 Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.