Boston is experiencing an immediate housing crisis due to the pandemic and ensuing recession; many residents are not able to afford their rent, and, to a lesser extent, their mortgage payments. The large and diverse population of Boston also has a large and diverse set of housing needs. The City of Boston is primarily composed of renters (65%) of which 13.3% are severely cost-burdened low-income (non-student) households. Another 23.6% of households are low-income renters. Approximately one out of every five housing units in Boston is income restricted (a total of 54,000 units that have an income-based restriction), the vast majority of which are income-restricted in perpetuity, although a small share will expire before 2030.

Over the past two decades, Boston has made a concerted effort to build in order to meet the growing demand for housing in the city. Between 2000 and 2018, Boston’s housing stock grew by an estimated 18.9%, from 251,935 in 2000 to 299,472 housing units in 2018. The largest increase was in units in large buildings (see Appendix Figure 2). Boston continues to be a regional leader in building new housing, but this honor is relative: the amount of housing built is still not nearly enough to meet the growing demand in the city. Additionally, the lack of housing production in nearby cities puts further pressure on the units produced in Boston. Boston is projected to continue to grow to approximately 750,000 people by 2030, though these estimates will be revised once it becomes clearer how the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recession have altered mobility decisions.