The average single adult in Maricopa can’t afford to rent an apartment here.
That’s according to U.S. Census Bureau data cross-referenced with a draft version of the city’s 2025 Housing Needs Assessment Update. The document was presented to the Maricopa Planning and Zoning Commission last week by economic consultant Elliott D. Pollack & Company.
The data in the draft provided a novel look into Maricopa’s housing trends, demographics and insights into what changes need to be made for the city going forward. This is the first deep dive into the data since 2017 when Maricopa leaders realized they needed more “workforce housing.”
The consultants last week gave an overview of Maricopa’s small but growing rental population, which amounts to roughly 4,400 units across apartments and single-family homes.
The available stock of apartment units is still fairly low when compared to single-family homes listed as rentals — compare 1,331 units completed since 2022 to the more than 3,200 houses listed as rentals. Rent prices ranged from $884 to $1,898 per month.
The Housing Needs Assessment showed renters’ median household income to be nearly $94,000. The Census Bureau data, however, showed the average single adult earned $35,736 in Maricopa in 2023.
According to American Community Survey data in the draft, the average Maricopa apartment houses more than four people, double the state average.
So, while an average family may be able to rent an apartment, the average single adult could not. That presents a problem, according to EDPC Senior Economist Danny Court.
“Maybe five, eight years ago, someone could purchase a home in the $200,000 range at a really low interest rate,” he said during the meeting. “That’s just gone. Where do those folks that are making $40,00 to $70,000 comfortably, affordably own something?”
They don’t, usually — and those making closer to $40,000 may not be able to rent, either, if they are single.
Renting a studio or one-bedroom apartment in Maricopa requires a minimum income of $51,000, according to CoStar in the draft. That increased to $64,000 for a two-bedroom apartment and $70,000 for a three-bedroom unit.
This could be a problem for service industry workers to find affordable housing for less than $40,000. For example, a Chipotle crew member may earn around $33,000 and a store associate at CVS can make up to $45,000, according to current listings on Indeed.
The Housing Needs data also showed just over half of all renters were cost burdened, meaning they paid more than 30% of their income on housing. One in 5 paid more than half of their income on housing, making them severely cost burdened, according to the census and HUD.
Pick up the April edition of InMaricopa magazine for a deep dive into cost burdens and eviction trends in Maricopa.
