USDA Issues Reminder on Tenant Evictions

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December 30, 2020 – The newest federal coronavirus relief bill includes a provision extending for one month the nationwide moratorium on eviction of tenants for nonpayment of rent. The moratorium, issued by the Centers for Disease Control in September 2020, protects tenants who provide certifications to their landlords, including tenants in assisted housing. It now applies through January 31, 2021 rather than the original termination date of December 31, 2020.

USDA has issued a reminder about the moratorium’s applicability to tenants in USDA-financed rental housing. The text of the reminder is incorporated in a December 29 update of USDA’s summary of coronavirus relief actions and is also reproduced below.

For more information, contact a USDA Rural Development Service Center.

 

Extention of CDC Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 enacted on Dec. 27, 2020, contains provisions extending new relief to those affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Section 502 of the Act contains an extension of the Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions originally issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on September 4, 2020. Residential evictions for nonpayment of rent are now halted through January 31, 2021.

As a reminder, this halt applies to all tenants in Rural Development MFH properties who certify that they meet the CDC criteria, such as:

  • All adults in the household have attempted to obtain any available government assistance for rent
  • The household meets income limits of $99,000 per individual or $198,000 per couple
  • The household is unable to pay full rent due to a loss in household income or extraordinary medical expenses
  • Timely partial payments have been attempted
  • Eviction would likely make the household homeless or force them into an unsafe shared living arrangement

The CDC guidance contains a sample certification form for tenants. It is our understanding that all adult members of the household must certify eligibility.

Early Information on Paycheck Protection Program Round 2

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Following is a summary of what we know as of December 29, 2020 regarding the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP2) approved in the coronavirus relief bill signed into law on December 27, 2020. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department will likely provide additional information and guidance in the new year.

PPP2 Funding

  • The maximum loan amount for PPP2 is $2 million (down from $10 million in the CARES Act).
  • The coronavirus relief bill allocates just over $284 billion for PPP2 loans.

PPP2 Loan Categories

  • First time PPP loans for businesses who qualified under the CARES Act but did not get a loan
  • Second draw PPP loans for businesses that obtained a PPP loan but need additional funding
  • Additional funding for businesses that returned their first PPP loan or did not get the full amount for which they qualified

PPP2 Loan Eligibility

Eligible small businesses may include:

  • Small businesses, nonprofit organizations, veterans organizations, Tribal business concerns, and small agricultural cooperatives that meet the SBA size standards
  • Sole proprietors, self employed individuals or independent contractors
  • New: Certain small news organizations, destination marketing organizations, housing cooperatives, and 501(c)(6) nonprofits may now also be eligible

Previous PPP recipients may apply for another loan of up to $2 million, if they:

  • Have 300 or fewer employees
  • Have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan
  • Can show a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared with the same quarter in 2019 (note: there are instructions for business operating by 2/15/2020 that did not exist in early 2019)
  • Returned all or a part of a previous PPP loan

PPP2 will permit first-time borrowers that are:

  • Nonprofit organizations, including churches
  • Businesses with 500 or fewer employees that are eligible for other SBA 7(a) loans
  • Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals.

Calculating a 25% Reduction in Revenue

Compare gross receipts (before expenses are subtracted) for any quarter in 2020 to the same quarter in 2019 to determine if revenues decreased by at least 25% (note: there are instructions for business operating by 2/15/2020 that did not exist in early 2019).

For Small PPP2 Loans (of up to $150,000)

  • For loans of up to $150,000 the organization can simply certify the revenue loss in the application. Before the organization can apply for forgiveness, however, it will have to produce documentation of the revenue loss. Please look for additional guidance from SBA in the weeks to come.
  • The statute creates simplified forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less. The SBA Administrator has 24 days after the law’s enactment on December 27 to release a new one-page forgiveness application for loans of $150,000 or less — which includes loans under both the first round and the new PPP2.

PPP2 Loans and Payroll Costs

  • A business may qualify for up to 2.5 times average monthly payroll costs.
  • Borrowers will need to spend at least 60% of loan proceeds funding on qualified payroll expenses.
  • Payroll is defined essentially the same way as in the CARES Act.
  • An individual employee cannot earn in excess of $100,000 annually, as prorated for the covered period.
  • Borrowers may spend up to 40% on other qualified non-payroll expenses, during the covered period. The list of eligible non-payroll expenses includes:
    • Rent
    • Mortgage interest
    • Utilities
    • Covered operations expenditure
    • Covered property damage cost
    • Covered supplier cost
    • Covered worker protection expenditure

PPP2 Loan Forgiveness

  • It appears that PPP2 loans may be entirely forgiven if spent for the proper purposes during the permitted time period.
  • There are currently three PPP loan forgiveness applications (Form 3508, Form 3508EZ, and Form 3508S)
  • SBA is likely to revise or provide new loan forgiveness applications for PPP2.

Other Information

Like the original PPP under the CARES Act, there is no credit check required, there is no personal guarantee, and normal SBA collateral requirements are waived.

The President signed the legislation on December 27, 2020 and the SBA Administrator has ten days to issue regulations. At this time, we expect these loans to be available in early January.

Other resources approved in the bill include:

Coronavirus Relief Agreement Reached After Months of Uncertainty

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A brief eviction moratorium, $25 billion in rent aid, Paycheck Protection Program loans, supplemental unemployment benefits and checks to individuals are among the many provisions included in the relief bill signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020 after months of negotiations among congressional leaders and the White House. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act was rolled together with provisions to fund the government for the rest of fiscal year 2021 and several other measures.

The following list summarizes some of the bill’s key provisions relevant for affordable rural housing providers. HAC will provide more details as they become available.

  • Eviction moratorium: extends the Centers for Disease Control’s moratorium through January 31, 2021, without making any changes to the CDC’s language;
  • Rent assistance: provides $25 billion to be distributed to states, local governments and tribes by the Treasury Department to be used for up to 15 months of past or future housing costs for renters with incomes under 80 percent of area median; there are no additional funds for HUD or USDA housing programs;
  • Coronavirus Relief Fund deadline: extends the deadline for states, localities and tribes to use CRF funds provided by the CARES Act, so they can continue spending that money through December 31, 2021 instead of December 31, 2020;
  • Unemployment benefits: extends federal unemployment compensation, which will provide $300 per week through March 14, 2021 in addition to unemployment insurance payments provided by states;
  • Cash payments to individuals: provides $600 for individuals making less than $75,000 per year or $1,200 per couple making up to $150,000 plus $600 per child;
  • Paycheck Protection Program: adds new funding and makes some changes to the Paycheck Protection Program and other aid for small businesses;
  • Rural broadband: provides funding for broadband, including some targeted to rural areas;
  • CDFIs: creates an Emergency Capital Investment Program with $9 billion for lenders, including Community Development Financial Institutions and minority depository institutions, to invest in places disproportionately impacted by the pandemic;
  • Low Income Housing Tax Credit: sets 4 percent as the floor for the 4 percent housing credit, a change that is estimated to finance an additional 130,000 rental units in the next ten years.

Happy Holidays from the Housing Assistance Council

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With the holiday season upon us, we would like to take a moment to reflect on 2020. We have mourned the loss of family and friends to COVID-19, celebrated the focus on racial justice and longed for a more civil society. Our organization, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), has strived to respond to the challenges. We know every American needs a safe, stable and affordable home like never before.

HAC’s focus is on the small towns and rural regions that are least equipped to respond to the current crisis. That is why we are working overtime with our allies and local partners to respond to the overwhelming demand for housing and community development. We are inspired by our partners’ daily acts of courage in the offices and on the construction sites that produce homes for people in need. And to our sponsors and supporters, we are grateful that you have joined us in this work.

Like many of you, HAC has pivoted to meet this moment. HAC’s biennial National Rural Housing Conference is one of the most powerful tools we have for training and sustaining rural housing allies. While COVID may have forced us to push the conference back to 2021, last week we hosted our first ever virtual symposium—Recovery Through Resiliency. It was a resounding success. Over 600 rural housing developers, government officials, community members, and housing advocates registered to attend. Hundreds of different people joined in every one of the panels that highlighted our work and the work of our industry. Attendees explored how the communities we all serve can move forward together from this trying moment. All in all, this symposium was an excellent chance for HAC to come together with our partners and the rural development community.

2020 was also a very busy year for our Loan Fund. With $11 million lent this year, our Loan Fund has increased lending by 22%. This included an increase in loans made to BIPOC-led housing developers. Across rural America, our financing is supporting safe, healthy, and affordable housing. The Loan Fund has also raised more than $4 million in lending capital, expanding our lending capacity for years to come.

Our work to build capacity in rural communities has also ramped up. Since March, HAC staff has moved our operations on-line to deliver hundreds of hours of training to rural housing organizations. We helped rural organizations navigate CARES Act programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and supported strategies to weather the current crisis. We also helped dozens of local organizations develop their own tailored business continuity plans to respond to natural and man-made disasters. Rural resiliency became our mantra so that even after this crisis passes, our partners will be prepared for the next.

Through the Citizens Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) we’ve helped rural communities use creative placemaking to come together while the pandemic keeps so many of us apart. This summer CIRD hosted its first hybrid virtual and socially distant in-person workshop to restore the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Athens, Ohio. Working with community members, CIRD designers developed a plan to breathe life back into the historic building and, by extension, the entire community.

Our Research and Information division has long been a prominent voice on the issues affecting rural America, and 2020 was no exception. In addition to analyzing the impacts of the pandemic on rural places, R&I delved into rural population change, the impacts of aging rural populations, how tax policy affects Section 515 preservation, and much more. In fact, this summer’s issue of Rural Voices focused on rural aging, exploring housing’s place in broader strategies to care for seniors as well as solutions to the challenged faced by aging rural populations. Our latest issue of Rural Voices engages with rural design, showcasing the power the arts have in uplifting rural communities.

There is a lot to look forward to in 2021. Next year, we celebrate HAC’s 50th anniversary. It’ll be a time for us to reflect on how far we’ve come in the last half century. More importantly, it will be an opportunity to highlight what must be done in the next 50 to eliminate rural poverty and housing needs. With a new administration, HAC is working to establish a seat at the table for rural issues from day one. Our flagship publication Taking Stock will analyze what the latest Census tells us about rural America. And, the full HAC conference will resume next December for us all to come together as an industry and as rural communities.

Our many partners and supporters deserve so much of the credit for our success. As we continue to grow in 2021, we hope you’ll consider making a gift to HAC and help us make rural communities even stronger, more vibrant, and more resilient. Thank you for all your help this year.

Covid-19 Cases Surpass 2.2 Million in Rural America

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COVID 19 reported cases and deaths continue to grow at an accelerated pace. There are now more than 2.2 million rural cases, and there were nearly 900,000 new reported COVID-19 cases in rural areas over the last 30 days.   

UPDATE: COVID-19 in Rural America – DECEMBER 3, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis affecting nearly every community – including rural America. While there are still many uncertainties, the health crisis changes daily and the pandemic’s impact on rural communities continues to grow and evolve. The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents summary findings of COVID-19 in rural America as of early December.

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RURAL COVID-19 CASES INCREASED BY NEARLY 60 PERCENT IN THE LAST MONTH ALONE

Total Reported COVID-19 Cases February 20- December 3, 2020

The first reported case of COVID-19 outside of metropolitan areas came on February 20, 2020. As of December 3, 2020, there were more than 2.2 million reported cases of COVID-19 and approximately 38,000 associated deaths in communities outside of metropolitan areas. Between November 3 and December 3, communities outside of metropolitan areas reported 859,000 new cases of COVID-19 – a 63 percent increase over the month period. All but two U.S. counties outside of metropolitan areas now have reported COVID-19 cases, and 93 percent of outside metro counties have also reported associated deaths related to the virus.

RURAL CASES CONTINUE AN UPWARD TREND

Newly Reported COVID-19 Cases February 20 – DECEMBER 3, 2020

Nationally, the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to increase and reported rural cases also continue to grow to their highest levels since the pandemic began. Between November 20 and December 3, rural areas reported an average of 29,552 cases per day. Similarly, rural reported COVID related deaths were up to an average of 434 per day compared to 331 deaths per day over the previous two-week period.

 

RURAL COVID CASES CONTINUE TO OUTPACE THE OUTSIDE METROPOLITAN POPULATION AS A WHOLE

Rural Share of COVID-19 Reported Cases

Initial impacts of COVID-19 were greatest in urban and suburban communities and these areas still have the largest share of cases and deaths. Since February 20, 2020, approximately 16 percent of the total reported COVID-19 cases were identified in rural communities. But the rural share of COVID-19 cases continues to be larger than the outside metro proportion of the population. On December 3, 2020, 17 percent of new cases and 25 percent of new deaths were reported outside of metropolitan areas.

 

 

RURAL COVID-19 CASES ARE INCREASING IN THE UPPER MIDWEST AND WEST

Reported Rural COVID-19 Rates per 100,000

Only two U.S. counties have not reported COVID-19 cases, but the virus’ impacts vary widely across the nation’s rural geography. Rural America simultaneously has the highest and lowest rates of reported COVID-19 cases. There have been several instances of extremely high per-capita infection rates in rural areas – notably on some Native American lands and communities with meat packing and correctional facilities.  In the past weeks, the rural case and death rates increased most dramatically in the plains and upper Midwest, Southeastern, and Western states.

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ABOUT THE DATA

The information in this brief derives from Housing Assistance Council tabulations of data from The New York Times, based on reports from state and local health agencies, and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014-2018 American Community Survey. 

In these analyses, the terms “rural” and Outside Metropolitan Areas are synonymous and refer to counties and counts outside of OMB designated Metropolitan Areas. 

The Housing Assistance Council is a national nonprofit organization that helps build homes and communities across rural America. 

Remembering Bill Powers

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On Thanksgiving Day, the affordable housing community lost a dear friend and advocate. Bill Powers was a friend of the Housing Assistance Council since its earliest days as one of our first staff members and later board member and chair.

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A true affordable housing advocate, Bill devoted over 50 years of his life to the promotion of affordable housing and once said that the work has been “a lifetime interest.” When Gordon Cavanaugh became HAC’s first executive director in late 1971, he hired Bill, whom he had met while both men were working for the city of Philadelphia’s housing programs. Initially Bill helped start HAC’s lending programs and later he took on responsibility for government affairs.

As a housing program developer for the Rural California Housing Corporation, he was credited with raising over $1 million in a single year to support housing development in that state. Even after retiring, Bill donated his time to many organizations, served as a board member of several local housing agencies and HAC, and worked closely with the California Alliance of Retired Americans. He was also the recipient of the Congress for California Seniors Lifetime Achievement Award.

The death of Bill Powers is a loss for the affordable housing community. We will keep his memory alive by building on the work he spent his life doing: supporting rural communities’ access to safe, healthy, affordable homes. “I think HAC ought to be proud we’ve survived this long and proud of the movement we helped create,” Bill once said. “As long as there is a need for housing in rural America there will be a desperate need for organizations like HAC.” Rest in peace, Bill. Thank you for all you’ve done for us and for low-income rural Americans.

White Mountain Apache Housing Authority Serves its Veterans

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The White Mountain Apache Housing Authority (WMAHA) helps the members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe to overcome their individual housing needs. Of these, almost 500 are U.S. military veterans. Working in the Fort Apache Indian Reservation located in eastern central Arizona, WMAHA serves the 16,000 enrolled members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe and strives to ensure that every tribal member has safe housing they can afford. The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is proud to be a partner of WMAHA and their amazing work. In 2018, we awarded a $30,000 grant through The Home Depot Foundation‘s Veteran Housing Grants Program to WMAHA to help support their veterans. In celebration of Veterans Day and Native American Heritage Month, we’d like to highlight just a few of the many ways the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority serves the veterans of the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

Before rehab of a veteran’s home completed by WMAHA in 2018 

Before rehab of a veteran’s home completed by WMAHA in 2018

After rehab of a veteran’s home completed by WMAHA in 2018 

After rehab of a veteran’s home completed by WMAHA in 2018
Before and after of a rehab of a veteran’s home completed by WMAHA in 2018 

 

As many veterans know, service doesn’t end when you’re discharged. It’s a value that is carried for a lifetime. For WMAHA, service is key to the mission. The Veteran Home Rehabilitation Program serves those who have served our country. Many of the low-income Apache veterans the Housing Authority assists are in desperate need of multiple, expensive repairs to make sure their homes are safe, accessible, and livable. But without the ability to make these repairs themselves, many veterans need help.

Over the last eight years, the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority has rehabilitated (or in one case built!) 19 homes for their veterans, each of which required multiple major repairs for health, safety, and accessibility. All of this was performed at no cost to the veteran or their family. Last year WMAHA was able to set a record with 5 rehabilitations.

Making sure their veterans have safe and healthy homes is a point of pride for WMAHA and for the entire White Mountain Apache community. After all, WMAHA doesn’t work alone: each rehabilitation is made possible by scores of volunteers. As the team from WMAHA explains, “the number of volunteers who come and help with demolition and construction cleanup during the projects” is a testament to the rehabilitation program’s “impact on the community.” From the Housing Authority to everyday members, including community partners, the White Mountain Apache Tribe takes care of its veterans. By taking care of those who took care of us, WMAHA is serving both its community and the broader community of veterans nationwide.

The COVID pandemic has hit many Native communities particularly hard, and tragically, the White Mountain Apache are no exception. During the pandemic, unemployment, which usually runs 80% according to WMAHA, has far surpassed that amount, and food insecurity is “at a critical level.” Many of the low-income veterans WMAHA assists don’t have a way to pick up food from the local food bank, so the Housing Authority is starting to deliver the food boxes itself. Not content to just help house their veterans, WMAHA is committed to improving their quality of life.

Caring for veterans extends outside the home, too. For WMAHA, ensuring their veterans have access to the Veterans Affairs benefits they deserve is a critical mission. With 1.67 million acres, the Fort Apache Indian Reservation is large and rural. This creates challenges for many of the Tribe’s low-income veterans. Many of the nearest VA hospitals are hundreds of miles away, which makes even getting to routine appointments incredibly difficult. This distance makes it so challenging to receive disability ratings, see specialists, and make necessary appointments that, according to Barb Connerley, a consultant who works with WMAHA, “many of the veterans…do not know what VA benefits are available to them.”

This veteran’s home was in such disrepair the team from WMAHA decided to tear it down and start from scratch.

This veteran’s home was in such disrepair the team from WMAHA decided to tear it down and start from scratch.

This veteran’s home was in such disrepair the team from WMAHA decided to tear it down and start from scratch.

This veteran’s home was in such disrepair the team from WMAHA decided to tear it down and start from scratch.
This veteran’s home was in such disrepair the team from WMAHA decided to tear it down and start from scratch.

The White Mountain Apache Housing Authority has created a solution to help connect their veterans to the VA medical care they earned through their service. Since 2017, the White Mountain Apache Tribe Department of Transportation has operated Fort Apache Connection Transit (FACT), a 2-route bus system serving 12 stops across the Reservation. While this system doesn’t provide access to the nearest VA hospitals, the Housing Authority recently began repurposing one of their buses to transport veterans to their VA appointments. Multiple times a month, WMAHA will be providing veterans with a bus ride to their appointments and back home. They even take the time to help the veterans complete their paperwork to file for VA benefits.

For the trip, WMAHA provides their veterans with water, snacks, masks, and COVID safety information. They hope that this program can also serve as a teaching event, helping their veterans learn more about COVID safety as well as how to access their VA benefits. The program’s strength is its ingenuity—bringing together transit, healthcare, and informational services—in solving a critical problem for the Tribe’s veterans. Thanks to the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority, veterans living on reservation now have access to the critical VA healthcare they’ve earned through their service.

Many veterans return from their service to find it difficult to access the resources of their communities, including housing. Tragically, Native communities are overrepresented among persistent poverty counties, making these resources even harder to access. The Housing Assistance Council is committed to helping build community resources for housing where they’re needed most. Partners like WMAHA help us give back to our veterans and uplift Native communities. As Barb Connerley puts it, the Tribe’s veterans “have a proud tradition of military service and sacrifice.” The work of the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority pays respect to that service and sacrifice through service, care, and ingenuity of its own.

Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies Releases State of the Nation’s Housing 2020

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For most of 2020, the country has been beset by the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest sparked by longstanding racial injustice, and the devastating impacts of climate change. Although low interest rates and continued growth in some sectors have bolstered homebuying and the broader economy, conditions have worsened for many households. Indeed, the nation’s failure to live up to its long-stated goal of a decent home in a suitable environment for all has never been clearer— particularly in the lack of affordable rental housing and unequal access to homeownership. Today’s crisis conditions call for a comprehensive re-envisioning of national housing policy.

Read the Report

Attend the release event on Nov. 19 at 4:00 pm EST

Covid-19 Cases Per 100,000 Outside Metropolitan Areas - 10-24-2020

Over 1 Million Covid-19 Cases in Rural America – 24,000 Deaths

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After nine months since the first COVID 19 case was reported in a rural community, there are 1.2 million rural cases, and rural deaths from the virus are now consistently above 25 percent of the daily national total.  

UPDATE: COVID-19 in Rural America – October 24, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis affecting nearly every community – including rural America. While there are still many uncertainties, the health crisis changes daily and the pandemic’s impact on rural communities continues to grow and evolve. The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents summary findings of COVID-19 in rural America after nine months since the first reported case outside of metropolitan areas on February 20, 2020.

Covid-19 Reported Cases Outside Metropolitan Areas, October 24, 2020

MORE THAN 1 MILLION RURAL AMERICANS HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH COVID-19

Total Reported COVID-19 Cases February 20- October 24, 2020

The first reported case of COVID-19 outside of metropolitan areas came on February 20, 2020. As of October 24, 2020, there were more than 1.1 million reported cases of COVID-19 and approximately 24,000 associated deaths in communities outside of metropolitan areas. All but four counties outside of metropolitan areas now have reported COVID-19 cases, and over 80 percent of outside metro counties have also reported associated deaths related to the virus.

 

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RURAL CASES ARE AT THEIR HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN

Newly Reported COVID-19 Cases February 20 – October 24, 2020

Nationally, the number of new COVID-19 cases have begun to increase again and reported rural cases have also grown to some of their highest levels since the pandemic began. Between October 11 and October 24, rural areas reported an average of 12,807 cases per day – an upward trend of about 30 percent in the past 14-day period. Similarly, rural reported COVID related deaths were up to an average of 217 per day compared to 172 deaths per day over the previous two-week period.

RURAL COVID CASES NOW OUTPACE THE OUTSIDE METROPOLITAN POPULATION AS A WHOLE

Rural Share of COVID-19 Reported Cases

Initial impacts of COVID-19 were greatest in urban communities and these areas still have the largest share of cases and deaths. Since February 20, 2020, about 14 percent of the total reported COVID-19 cases were identified in rural communities. But the rural share of COVID-19 cases continues to rise nationally. On August 24, 2020, approximately 17 percent of new COVID-19 cases and 19 percent of deaths were reported in rural communities. On October 24, 2020, 21 percent of new cases and 34 percent of new deaths were reported outside of metropolitan areas.

RURAL COVID-19 CASES ARE HIGHEST IN THE SOUTH AND INCREASING IN THE UPPER MIDWEST

Reported Rural COVID-19 Rates per 100,000

Over 99 percent of counties outside of Metropolitan areas have reported COVID-19 cases, but the virus’ impacts vary widely across the nation’s rural geography. There have been several instances of extremely high per-capita infection rates in rural areas – notably on some Native American lands and communities with meat packing and correctional facilities.  From September 24- October 24, the rural case and death rates increased most dramatically in the plains and upper Midwest, as well as in some Appalachian and southern communities.

COVID-19 Reported Case Rates Per 100,000 Outside of Metropolitan Areas - October 24, 2020

About the Data

The information in this brief derives from Housing Assistance Council tabulations of data from The New York Times, based on reports from state and local health agencies, and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014-2018 American Community Survey.

In these analyses, the terms “rural” and Outside Metropolitan Areas are synonymous and refer to counties and counts outside of OMB designated Metropolitan Areas. 

The Housing Assistance Council is a national nonprofit organization that helps build homes and communities across rural America. 
www.ruralhome.org

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