Sifter

Mortage interest rates are on their way back up. This will likely translate to higher monthly payments, since house prices are rising as well. But conventional wisdom—and lender guidelines—hold that monthly housing costs (including taxes, insurance, utlities and fuels) should not exceed 35 percent of household income. In Chico, 24,352 housing units are owned, a figure that includes multi-unit dwellings. According to the 2000 census, 19 percent of owners devote more than 35 percent of their income to housing costs, while 46 percent of renters do so. Here’s a look at how much the owners’ mortgage payments are; the median is $1,124.

mortgage* number of owners percentage of owners

less than $300 18 .2%

$300 to $499 202 2.4%

$500 to $699 557 6.7%

$700 to $999 1,580 19%

$1,000 to $1,499 2,788 33.6%

$1,500 to $1,999 794 9.6%

$2,000 or more 421 5.1%

* Total and percentage are based on the 76.6 percent of Chico structures (6,360) that are mortgaged. For 23.4 percent of the units, no mortgage is carried.