Finding Silver Linings in LA’s Renting Culture

A map of LA's home ownership. Lighter areas have higher rates of renters.

It seems that people are often quick to dismiss projects in the LA region due to its culture. We shouldn’t expand mass transit because people love their cars too much. We shouldn’t build high density developments because people want to raise their kids in the suburbs with big backyards.

However, recent data from the Census and the American Community Survey shows that our “LA culture” may not be as deeply ingrained as we often think it is.

In looking at the data, you can come up with three major takeaways:

1. 52% of residents in the LA metro area are renters (the highest rate in the country)

2. Half of these renters are spending too much of their income on their monthly rent

3. 45% of households own one or fewer cars

These numbers present a great opportunity for the region’s city planners and developers. Half of the population is incredibly mobile - they don’t have the anchor of home ownership and they technically have the ability to move every year.

City planners should be pushing even harder for high density, transit oriented developments. They also should be less committed to expanding transit networks out to far-reaching areas of the region. Instead of expanding the network out to places like Azusa, METRO should be focusing more on improving access to the economic centers (insert shameless plug for my Ringbahn idea here). Planners should also be creating incentives for developers to build affordable high density housing. Developers seem to be focusing on sexier, high-end rental buildings, but the data shows that there’s a need for affordable places to live.

People in the planning community have been optimistic that the Los Angeles of 2030 will look very different than it does today. Although there have been some recent setbacks, the data shows that Angelenos are ready to live in a bigger, yet more sustainable city.