Three Issues Contributing to Rural America’s Affordable Housing Crisis

Housing affordability, long considered primarily an urban issue, is now becoming a major concern in rural areas.According to an article published in Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, nearly a quarter of America’s rural counties have seen a significant increase in the number of households spending half of their income on housing. Spending this much on housing categorizes these households as “severely cost-burdened," which means they often have difficulties paying for food, medical care or other necessities.Why are rural areas becoming less affordable?  Stateline emphasizes three issues contributing to the affordable housing crisis.1. Loss of High Paying JobsSome areas, such as a cluster of coal-dependent counties in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, have seen a loss of high paying jobs…