Rural Municipal Leaders Confirm Housing Affordability Continues to be a Major Issue

A joint survey conducted in October 2024 by the New York State Association of Towns and the Rural Housing Coalition of New York reaffirmed that housing affordability continues to be a major issue confronting rural communities throughout the state.

The poll of municipal leaders found that 68 percent of respondents believed that housing affordability was a major concern in their towns and villages. Affordable housing is generally defined as housing (either owner-occupied or rental) for which the occupant is paying no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs, including utilities.