PHILADELPHIA, PA — Affordable housing construction has surged nationwide since the pandemic, but the Philadelphia region has expanded income-restricted housing at a slower pace than much of the country, according to a new analysis by RentCafe.com.
Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 310,000 affordable apartments were completed across the United States, marking an unprecedented five-year building cycle for lower-income renters. During that same period, the Philadelphia metropolitan area added 3,505 fully affordable apartments out of 34,114 total new units, meaning roughly 10 percent of new construction was income-restricted—below the national average of 12.6 percent.
The data show that Philadelphia’s affordable housing output declined nearly 13 percent compared with the 2015–2019 period, signaling a post-pandemic slowdown rather than an expansion, even as federal funding and policy incentives accelerated development elsewhere.
Nationwide, affordable housing construction rose 73 percent compared with the previous five-year period, far outpacing the 36 percent growth in overall apartment construction. Nearly one-third of all affordable units built since 2020 were delivered in 2024 alone, when more than 91,000 income-restricted apartments came online—the highest annual total in at least a decade.
RentCafe’s analysis highlights stark contrasts between Philadelphia and neighboring or peer metropolitan areas. New York City emerged as a national outlier, adding 14,240 affordable apartments since 2020. As a result, nearly 32 percent of all new apartment construction in the New York metro was income-restricted. Baltimore also outpaced Philadelphia, delivering 2,490 affordable units during the same period, a 39 percent increase over the prior five years, with affordable housing accounting for about 16 percent of new construction.
Across the country, large coastal metros and fast-growing Sun Belt cities dominated the affordable housing pipeline. Seattle led the nation with more than 14,000 affordable apartments completed in the past five years, while San Antonio recorded the fastest growth rate, with a 223 percent increase compared with the previous period. Phoenix, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Austin also posted triple-digit growth in affordable housing output.
The report attributes much of the national surge to expanded public funding and policy changes, including continued reliance on the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and billions of dollars directed into housing through the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Reforms such as income averaging under the tax credit program gave developers greater flexibility while preserving long-term affordability.
In 2024, nearly 14 percent of all new apartments built nationwide were income-restricted, up from just under 9 percent a decade earlier, reflecting a growing emphasis on affordability in new development. Philadelphia’s comparatively modest share underscores the challenges facing the region as housing costs continue to strain renters across the Greater Philadelphia area.
The RentCafe.com analysis was compiled using apartment data from Yardi Matrix and examined construction trends across 146 U.S. markets. Fully affordable properties were defined as developments in which all units are income-restricted and designed for long-term affordability, excluding mixed-income projects with time-limited restrictions.
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