Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Existing Conditions | Page 69

5 Housing

Compared to the State of Rhode Island, Newport has a fewer percentage of residents spending more than 20%) on
housing costs. Table 5-10 shows the City of Newport has over a third of its population spending 20% or less on home
costs; however, it also has 37.1% of its households considered cost burden. Housing cost-burden refers to those
households paying more than 30% of their income on housing; likewise, households paying more than 50% of their
income on housing are considered severely cost burdened. Of this 37.1%, 33% are homeowners and 39% are renters.
Table 5-10 - Selected Monthly Housing Costs as a Percent of Household Income
Percent of Income
Spent on Housing

Newport
Number

Westerly
Percent

Number

Rhode Island
Percent

Number

Percent

Less than 20%

3,781

36.7%

2,744

36.6%

134,759

33.8%

20% to 24.9%

1,377

13.4%

986

13.1%

53,265

13.4%

25% to 29.9%

1,309

12.7%

855

11.4%

47,508

11.9%

30% to 34.9%

754

7.3%

855

11.4%

34,578

8.7%

35% or more

3,070

29.8%

2,060

27.5%

128,039

32.2%

50% or more*

1,825

16.7%

970

12.7%

73,005

17.8%

10,291

100.0%

7,500

100.0%

398,149

100.0%

Total Occupied

Source: 2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
*2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates—2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates not available.

The total foreclosures in Newport, including single family homes as well as multi-family homes, from 2009 to quarter
three of 2015, totaled 120. This came out to 0.00% of the total housing in Newport. In comparison, the State of Rhode
Island had a rate of 0.10%.

Cost-Burden Households

Table 5-11 compares the City of Newport with the Town of Westerly and the State of Rhode Island, depicting
household incomes with the number and percent of those that are cost-burden households. The data is presented by
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with the most recent data from 2012.
Despite the greater home values and rental costs in Newport, the city has a slightly smaller percentage of costburdened households than the State of Rhode Island as a whole. In fact, Newport has a smaller percentage of costburden households that make less than 30% of the HUD adjusted median family incomes (HAMFI) that the Town of
Westerly and the State of Rhode Island as a whole. However, Newport households which make more than 50% of the
HAMFI are at a higher risk of being cost burdened than households in both Westerly and the State of Rhode Island.

Draft Existing Conditions (March 2016)

Page 5-15