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The LA Times reported on Wednesday that 51% of the renters in Los Angeles are worried about their economic futures in the city as the cost of housing and inflation are causing a major strain for them.
Additionally, only 61% of homeowners are optimistic about their economic future there.
The report cited the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs’ 2024 “Quality of Life Index,” which depicted a dire outlook on the economy from L.A. residents, particularly among renters.
LA JUDGE, LOCAL OFFICIALS LAUNCH BOLD REVIEW OF CITY’S HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDER AMID GROWING CRISIS
Nearly half of Los Angeles renters have worried about becoming homeless in the last few years due to economic hardship. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
“This year, the overall quality of life rating reported by survey respondents dropped to 53 on a scale of 10 to 100 — tying with 2022 for the lowest rating since the survey launched in 2016,” the outlet reported.
Additionally, the index recorded the “lowest score ever observed in any category” for the city’s cost of living rating – at 38.
The piece quoted The Luskin School’s Los Angeles Initiative director Zev Yaroslavsky, who said, “Everybody feels they’re being squeezed by the cost of living, even affluent people.”
The survey also noted that, among renters, “fewer than a quarter” said they believed they would ever be able to own a home in Los Angeles. Overall, “about half, 51%, of renters reported being pessimistic about their economic future in L.A. County, while 61% of homeowners said they felt optimistic,” the article reported.
These numbers reflect the general attitude among renters in the city for the “last few years,” during which “nearly 4 in 10 renters in Los Angeles County have worried about losing their homes and becoming homeless,” The Times stated.
“Community members are very concerned about facing an eviction or becoming homeless,” Pablo Estupiñan, the campaign director of tenant advocacy group Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), said.
According to a UCLA study, more than half of the renters in L.A. are “pessimistic” about their economic futures. ((Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images))
“That’s kind of been the trend we’re seeing, with wages that are pretty stagnant as rents keep going up,” he added.
Providing another snapshot of how renters are struggling, the Times mentioned a recent housing initiative at Penn report which estimated that around two-thirds of renters were late on rent.
The report “estimated that between 97,000 and 153,000 households in the city of L.A. were behind on rent as of August 2023.”
Also, L.A. has seen a record number of evictions. According to SAJE’s data, “more than 47,000 eviction court filings across the county, the most since 2016.”
The Times added, “Advocates expect that number could increase again this year, after the last of COVID-era renter protections expired in February.”
Members of the L.A. City Council did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
