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County of San Luis Obispo Releases 2025 Community Development Needs Assessment Report
Author: Homeless Services Division
Date: 12/11/2024 12:30 PM
Affordable rental housing, healthcare services, and homelessness continue to be the most pressing needs for San Luis Obispo County residents.
San Luis Obispo, CA—During a public hearing on December 10, 2024, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors reviewed the findings of the 2025 Community Development Needs Assessment Report. The report highlights the most pressing housing and public service needs across the county and represents a significant step in the County’s ongoing efforts to purposefully allocate federal funding to address key community development needs. The assessment was conducted by the County of San Luis Obispo’s Homeless Services Division within the Department of Social Services.
The Community Development Needs Assessment received 918 survey responses—a 264% increase from last year’s assessment—showing a high level of community engagement and participation. The survey included questions on a respondent’s demographics, work status, and housing experiences, and then requested each person to rate the community’s need for 59 different activities based on their own knowledge and perceptions. In addition to the online survey, the County hosted five in-person workshops across the region and one virtual workshop.
The feedback from participants will guide funding recommendations for housing and service needs, helping to allocate federal grant monies received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the County of San Luis Obispo from 2025 through 2029.
Key findings from the report include the following:
- Affordable rental housing ranked as the most needed community activity, with over 78% of respondents citing it as a high community need for San Luis Obispo County. Health care services, mental health services, homeless prevention, and homeless services were the next four highest ranked community needs.
- Of 738 respondents, 38% were identified as having a low, very low, or extremely low incomes based on household size and income bracket.
- Of 918 respondents, 66% reported owning their primary residence, and 9.6% relied on support from friends, family, or assistance programs to own or rent their residence.
- Single family houses were the most common type of residence (70% of respondents), followed by apartments/lofts (8.5%), condos/townhomes (7.8%), and manufactured or mobile homes (5.0%).
- Of 453 respondents who sought housing since January 2020, 77% experienced difficulties securing housing. Over 90% of those facing challenges cited that available housing options were outside of their budget.
- More than half of respondents reported spending 30% or more of their gross monthly income on housing costs, classifying them as cost-burdened under HUD guidelines.
The findings of the Community Development Needs Assessment will inform the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, a HUD-mandated document that outlines funding priorities for federal community grant programs such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
Guided by the funding priorities identified in the Community Development Needs Assessment and established by the Board of Supervisors, the County’s Homeless Services Division will invite proposals from qualified applicant agencies for review and funding consideration. Public input will continue to play a key role as the County finalizes the 2025 Action Plan, which will summarize the funding recommendations in the months ahead. The selected proposals will be announced in spring 2025, with the community beginning to see the impacts of these awards by the end of next year.
The public can access and review the full Community Development Needs Assessment Report and related documents at slocounty.gov/CommunityDevelopment.
