(Un)affordable

Arizona has a reputation for being an affordable place to live. But that's not the case anymore. Rent prices in the Phoenix area are rising about twice as fast as the national average. And with around 200 people moving to Maricopa County every day, demand for housing keeps rising. In this podcast we explore the obstacles that are making the cost of housing in Phoenix harder and harder for many residents to afford.

Episode 2: The Working Poor

Volunteers serving food at St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix
Families arrive for dinner at a St. Vincent de Paul dining room in Phoenix. The organization offers homelessness prevention services as well as free meals.
Resources
  • Danielle McMahon, director of food services for St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix
    Danielle McMahon, director of food services for St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, says more and more homeless families have been showing up in the organization's dining rooms throughout Phoenix in recent years.
  • Families eat dinner in a St. Vincent de Paul dining room in Phoenix
    Families eat dinner in a St. Vincent de Paul dining room in Phoenix. The organization serves about 2,500 meals a day in the Phoenix area.
  • Cynthia Zwick, left, and Kelly McGowan, right, of Wildfire
    Cynthia Zwick, left, and Kelly McGowan, right, of Wildfire, say wages in Arizona are not keeping up with the increases in cost of living.

Affordability is relative. What you can afford to pay in rent all depends on how much money you make in the first place. So how do wages relate to Arizona's growing affordability problem? And with programs like Section 8 housing choice vouchers available to help low-income people afford rent, why are so many still struggling? In part two of this five-part podcast series, Katherine Davis-Young explores the widening gap between wages and housing costs in Arizona. 

Contributor
Katherine Davis-Young
Producers
Katherine Davis-Young