Housing affordability has been identified as not only an economic issue for communities across the United States, but also a determinant of individuals’ quality of life. As noted by Sturtevant (2015) “…in 2014 the average US household spent 22 percent of its gross income (i.e., before tax income) on housing…households in the bottom two income quintiles spend 50 percent of their before-tax incomes on housing” (p. 1). On a local level, data indicate that housing costs in New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington exceed the national average. For example, “38.6 percent of homeowners are housing-cost burdened” and 54.2 percent of all renters are cost-burdened” (Sheridan, 2015b).

Based on existing data, it is evident that housing affordability is a social problem for New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington that needs to be addressed. Significant impediments to addressing this issue are the myths and misunderstandings associated with housing affordability. For example, erroneous assertions that “affordable housing lowers neighboring property values” and “affordable housing is public housing” negatively influence the community’s perception of the issue (Sheridan, 2015a). Thus, an important first step in identifying solutions to housing affordability is to gather information from community residents regarding their perceptions of this topic so that community leaders have a complete picture when making decisions and developing a course of action. The objective of the current project was to examine New Hanover County residents’ perceptions and attitudes regarding housing affordability.