City of Methuen Master Plan

Methuen Master Plan 2007
Despite these limitations, the age distribution of households within the lower income brackets provides
a basis for estimating the distribution of households with affordable housing needs. From the
household age-by-income data, it is possible to further segment and estimate a range of the number of
elderly (65 years or older) and non-elderly households (age 15 to 64), as well as by tenure (owner and
renter). Table 19 shows the percentage of households in each group depending on income level, age
and tenure in order to quantify the amount of households that could potentially qualify for rental
assistance.
Table 19: Estimated Low Income Households by Age & Tenure (2005)
Households
% Allocation of
Eligibility
Estimated Low-Income
Households
Age/Income Cohort Total Owner Renter Owner Renter Owner Renter Total
% of
Group
Non-Elderly/Family
Less than $15,000 [1] 1,273 351 922 30% 100% 105 922 1,027 81%
$15,000 to $24,999 [1,2] 861 560 301 20% 75% 112 226 338 39%
$25,000 to $40,000 [2] 1,658 1,250 408 10% 50% 125 204 329 20%
$40,000 to $59,999 [2,3] 2,454 1,458 996 5% 25% 73 249 322 13%
$60,000 to $74,999 [3,4] 1,715 1,389 326 1% 5% 14 16 30 2%
Subtotal 7,961 5,008 2,953 9% 55% 429 1,617 2,046 26%
Elderly
Less than $15,000 [1] 914 665 249 20% 75% 133 187 320 35%
$15,000 to $24,999 [1,2] 658 515 143 10% 50% 52 71 123 19%
$25,000 to $40,000 [2] 706 494 212 5% 15% 25 32 57 8%
$40,000 to $59,999 [2,3] 603 483 120 1% 5% 5 6 11 2%
$60,000 to $74,999 [3,4] 280 278 2 0% 0% 0 0 0 0%
Subtotal 3,161 2,436 725 9% 41% 214 296 510 16%
All Income Groups
Non-Elderly 12,855 9,195 3,660 5% 44% 429 1,617 2,046 16%
Elderly 4,017 3,292 725 7% 41% 214 296 510 13%
Total Households 16,872 12,487 4,385 5% 44% 643 1,912 2,556 15%
Income Levels are equivalent to:
[1] Extremely Low (30%)
[2] Very Low (50%)
[3] Low Income (80%)
[4] Moderate Income (120%)
Source: US Census, DemographicsNow RKG Associates, Inc.
As shown in Table 19, a total of approximately 2,560 households in 2005 would be income eligible for
rental assistance based on the income criteria of the Lawrence PMSA representing about 15% of all
households in Methuen. An estimated 2,050 households would qualify for family, or non-elderly (less
than 65 years) housing, while the remaining 510 would be elderly (65 years or older). This amount of
eligible elderly represents 13% of that cohort in the City, whereas the eligible non-elderly households
reflect about 16% of the under-65 cohort.
Of the 2,560 qualifying households, 1,800 households with incomes of less than $25,000 would be
classified in the extremely low-income range. These households are more heavily distributed to the nonelderly
(1,365) rather than the elderly (443), and combined, equate to 61.5% of all low-income
households. Included in this group are 1,350 households with incomes less than $15,000. These
households equate to 52.7% of all low-income households. Methuen’s households in poverty (1,310)
represent 97.0% of the City’s households with incomes under $15,000.
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