The Latent and Sequential Costs of Being Poor: An Exploration of Housing

This paper explores unexamined housing costs that families incur by virtue of their low income. We build on a paradigm that identifies some unmeasured costs of being poor as latent (hidden and not counted in other poverty measures) and sequential (consequential with subsequent cost implications). Using data from in-depth interviews with cash assistance recipients and working poor heads of household, we explore these latent and sequential costs of poverty related to housing. We observe a variety of housing-related experiences regarding amenities and structure, stability, money outlays, and neighborhood characteristics. These experiences have associated with them latent and sequential costs that involve lack of safety, poor physical health, poor mental health, exhausting social capital, hopelessness, poor education, and diminished life opportunities, all of which have important financial and non-financial implications for families.