LoginDoes the typical public housing tenant in the US stay in public housing 12 years?
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No.
The median stay in public housing in the U.S. is four years, a 2024 study of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department data found.Β
Median means half the tenants in public housing projects stayed more than four years, half stayed less.
The study, by researchers from the universities of Illinois and Kansas, covered 2000 to 2022 and 1 million public housing units.Β
The average stay was 14 years, pulled higher by elderly and disabled residents, who tend to stay longer.
Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who represents part of eastern Wisconsin, said in May the average is 12 years.Β
HUDβs dataset on June 12 showed the average is 12 years. Median was not available.
President Donald Trump has proposed a two-year limit on federal rental assistance for βable-bodied adults.β
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed more than doubling to $100 million credits available annually for Wisconsin low-income housing developments. Republicans drafting the state budget June 12Β excludedΒ that provision.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department: Participation, Transition, and Length of Stay in Federal Housing Assistance Programs
- Forbes Breaking News: Glenn Grothman Condemns Federal Welfare System 'Filled With Horrible Incentives And Disincentives'
- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department: Picture of Subsidized Households
- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department: Picture of Subsidized Households β public housing, average months since moved in
- NPR: The Trump administration is working on a plan for time limits on rental aid
- U.S. Office of Management and Budget: Letter to Sen. Susan Collins
- Bipartisan Policy Center: President Trumpβs FY2026 Budget: Overview of Changes to Federal Housing Programs
- Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Summary of Governor's Budget Recommendations
- Wisconsin Economic Development Association: Gov. Tony Evers Unveils 2025-27 Budget Proposal
- Washington Examiner: Itβs Time for Time Limits on Public Housing
- American Enterprise Institute researcher Howard Husock: Email
- Wisconsin Legislature Omnibus motion
Does the typical public housing tenant in the US stay in public housing 12 years? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
