The Origins of California’s Housing Crisis: Fifty Years of Rising Housing Costs and the Unequal Impacts on Californians — Natalia Vega Varela & Nancy L. Cohen, June 2024

This report traces how California’s housing became increasingly unaffordable since 1970, showing rising rent burdens, persistent inequality, and how policy, economic shifts, and discrimination have disproportionately impacted renters, women, and racial minorities over time.

1. California’s housing crisis is the result of long-term structural change

2. Housing has become increasingly unaffordable for renters

3. The crisis is widespread, not limited to a small group

4. Inequality is central to the housing crisis

5. Historical discrimination shaped today’s disparities

6. Homeownership stability masks deeper inequality

7. The crisis has economic and social consequences for the entire state

8. Solving the crisis requires addressing both affordability and inequality

⭐ Star Facts

• 56% of California renters now spend over 30% of their income on housing (rent burdened).
• 30% of renters spend over half their income on housing (severely burdened).
• That equals 8.1 million Californians living in unaffordable housing—~6 million more than in 1970.
• The share of rent-burdened households has increased 55% since 1970, and severe burden has increased 65%.
• 1 in 4 renters spends more than 50% of their income on housing.
• Black households: 65% rent burdened, 39% severely burdened (highest of any group).
• Women-led households: ~68% rent burdened, ~42% severely burdened.
• Homeownership gap: White households are 1.8× more likely than Black households to own homes.
• Black homeownership has declined by 9% since 1970, while other groups increased or stayed stable.