Did you know most housing units that are committed as “affordable” in Arlington are priced at 60% of the area median income (AMI), which is still more than $90,000/year for a family of four?

This definition of “affordable” leaves out many people who are essential to Arlington’s workforce and economic success – childcare workers, home health aides, food prep workers, among so many others – who in 2023 made, on average, less than $45,000/year if working full-time (many are not).

This disparity is why Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) advocates for affordability at 30% AMI, which we call “deep affordability.”

Deep affordability means that more families can live in a safe, quality apartment that they can afford, with rents typically below $1,000 per month for a 2-bedroom. This not only prevents housing instability and homelessness, but it also alleviates financial stress for Arlington’s essential families. ACF’s many pilots demonstrate what people do when they have this financial “breathing room”… and it is life-changing.

During the last week, Arlington County took a major step for deeper housing affordability.

Based on advocacy and analysis led by ACF, the County Board has invested an additional $1 million to “buy-down” apartments to rents affordable to families and individuals earning less than 30% AMI.

The County is doing this in part to work towards a policy that 10% of all affordable properties include apartments at this affordability level. This is possible because the County deploys funds through its Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) to incentivize the construction and refinancing of committed affordable units throughout the County.

What comes next, and what can you do?

ACF will continue to work with County leadership and housing advocates to achieve deep affordability policy throughout the county – i.e., that 10% of all homes in new or refurbished affordable properties have units that are deeply affordable at 30% AMI.

You can support this work by:

Reading/Sharing our multi-year advocacy efforts on deeply affordable housing
Learning the lingo on Affordable Housing in the County (CAFs, and MARKs, and HUD, oh my!)
Emailing the County Board to thank them for supporting Deep Affordability in Arlington (these little notes can go a long way)
Sending us any questions, comments, or conundrums you might have about Deep Affordability. We love talking shop!

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