New year, new housing data

The Kansas City Region Housing Data Hub was created to be a community resource that empowers data-driven decision-making and planning across our community. This tool pulls from multiple data sources to provide users with a one-stop shop for their housing data needs.

The American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Data is the most used data source on the hub. The U.S. Census Bureau published a new version of this data on Dec. 7, 2023. The hub was updated to reflect this new version on Dec. 20, 2023. Users will now see five-year estimates for 2018-2022 ACS. You can learn more about the update on the bureau’s website.

Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) custom tabulation of ACS data, is another data source for the hub. On Sept. 5, 2023, HUD released updated CHAS data based on 2016-2020 ACS five-year estimates (updated from 2015 – 2019 data). The hub now also reflects these changes. You can learn more about the update on HUD’s website.

New data show that when compared to the previous five-year period, rental costs and home values continue to rise over the long term, and in most counties the rate of increase for median gross rental costs has outpaced that of median household income. 

Also of note, every county in the Kansas City region has lost rental units in the lowest price ranges (under $750) and gained units costing more than $2,000 per month. While all counties in the region have seen an increase in median gross rent, Johnson County, Kansas, has seen the largest at $292. As a percentage change in median gross rent, most of the region’s counties have seen a 25%-30% increase, except for Cass and Leavenworth counties at 18% and 16%, respectively.

These data and more can be found on the Kansas City Region Housing Data Hub. Housing data analysis can be found at marc.org/housing in the Housing Analysis and Data Stories section.