SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Housing affordability remains the dominant economic concern across California’s Capital Region, with a new public opinion survey finding that seven in 10 residents want their communities to do more to address rising costs and limited access to homes.
The 2026 Economic Mobility Poll, released by Valley Vision in partnership with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and Sacramento State’s Institute for Social Research, surveyed 1,118 residents across Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. The poll examined public views on housing, transportation, child care and artificial intelligence, but housing emerged as one of the clearest priorities in the data.
According to the report, “Poll responses reinforce what residents have been telling us consistently: housing affordability is a shared regional priority.” Researchers found that “Across the six-county region, 70% of respondents say it is very important or extremely important for their community to improve housing affordability.”
The findings continue a pattern from earlier regional surveys. The report noted that the latest numbers mirror the 2022, 2023 and 2025 Livability Polls, where “affordable and attainable housing for all emerged as the top priority for a majority of residents.”
The results come as housing costs continue to outpace incomes throughout the region.
In one of the report’s clearest indicators of worsening affordability, researchers found that in 2012 “the typical home in the area was valued at 3.75 times the median regional income.”
By 2023, “the ratio increased to roughly 6 times the median regional income.”
The report also cited current market prices showing: “Average home value: $600,000” and “Average monthly rent: $2,300.” It added that the Sacramento region has “the second highest home prices and third highest rents in their peer group of 17 regions.”
Researchers said the affordability crisis is not just about housing prices, but about access to opportunity.
“When the supply of affordable housing is low, workers often have to reside in a different community from their place of work, which increases the time individuals spend on daily commutes,” the report stated.
It added that if workers lack “consistent, reliable, affordable transportation to commute to job centers, then they may not be able to participate in the workforce.”
That link between housing and economic mobility was a central theme of the survey.
Valley Vision described the poll as an effort to understand “the conditions that enable residents across the Capital Region to achieve economic security and upward mobility.” It said housing, transportation, child care and career opportunity are interconnected systems that shape whether residents can fully participate in the regional economy.
The survey also found support for building more homes overall.
“More than half of respondents want to see more housing built,” the report said. It found that 52% of residents across the six-county region said building more housing was very or extremely important.
That support comes as the region prepares for major population growth. According to the report, the Capital Region is expected to add approximately 580,000 people over the next 25 years. To meet that demand, SACOG projects the region will need to build more than 9,000 homes annually between 2020 and 2050.
The report said two-thirds of the 278,000 new homes projected by SACOG could be built in existing centers, corridors and established communities, while the remaining third would be built in new developing areas.
Residents also expressed support for expanding the kinds of homes available beyond detached single-family houses.
According to the survey, “53% of respondents say it is very or extremely important to expand housing choices beyond single-family homes, including options such as duplexes, apartments, and other multiunit housing that can better meet the needs of renters, first-time buyers, seniors, and working families.”
The report framed that shift as economically significant, stating, “Expanding the range of attainable housing options is foundational to the region’s economic future — creating the conditions for greater workforce mobility, broader access to opportunity, and a more inclusive and prosperous Capital Region.”
Researchers specifically highlighted so-called missing-middle housing — forms such as duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and courtyard apartments that are denser than single-family subdivisions but smaller in scale than large apartment complexes.
The report said these homes “are more affordable to produce than larger apartment buildings and often fit in with the look and feel of single family neighborhoods.” It added that local governments can permit duplexes and triplexes on residential land and rezone sites for higher-density housing.
The region’s recent construction trends suggest the market is already shifting.
“In 2023, 25% of all new housing units being built were attached housing and 37% were large-lot single family homes, compared to 18% and 61% respectively in 2001,” the report found. It also noted that accessory dwelling units have increased sharply since being legalized in 2017, rising from zero that year to 649 in 2023.
The poll highlighted projects across the region that reflect changing housing strategies.
In Placerville, the report said three new affordable housing developments are underway that will create 237 homes. In Citrus Heights, it cited Sunrise Tomorrow, a mixed-use redevelopment project at the former Sunrise Mall site. In Davis, it pointed to the Lumberyard Project, describing it as “a prime example of how we’re achieving our infill development goals” with 227 new housing units, including affordable units.
The report also cited efforts in unincorporated Sacramento County, Elk Grove, Auburn, Galt, Isleton and El Dorado County, where officials have created an Affordable Housing Task Force to address shortages and diversify housing supply.
In its final recommendations, Valley Vision called for stronger local policy action.
Under its “Data for Action” section, the report urged governments to “Encourage local policy reforms that help facilitate missing middle housing development, allow for higher-density housing, incentivize accessory dwelling units, and fund subsidized affordable housing.”
It also said that as the region grows, housing policy should be coordinated with transportation planning and employment centers to ensure residents can reach jobs and services without being priced out or pushed farther away.
The survey results reinforce what many communities across the Sacramento region have been debating for years: affordability is no longer a niche concern tied only to low-income households. It is now a mainstream regional issue affecting renters, aspiring homeowners, working families, seniors and employers alike.
Valley Vision will host a public webinar on the findings April 30 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
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