Guam’s housing affordability picture combines a limited resident-market supply with substantial differences between owners, renters, and households at different income levels. Census and Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA) statistics show the scale of the market, the cost burden facing households, and an estimated need for 9,908 additional units during 2020–2025.
Table of contents
- Housing stock, occupancy, and tenure
- Income, values, rents, and housing-cost burden
- Home-purchase affordability
- Rental affordability and household demand
- Estimated housing need through 2025
- Need by income level
- Ownership, rental, and unit-type need
Housing stock, occupancy, and tenure
The Guam Housing Study and Needs Assessment counted 55,562 total housing units in 2019. That total was 9.9% higher than the 2010 Census count. The study estimated that 50,402 units, or 90.7% of the total, were available to Guam’s resident housing market.
Within that resident-market stock, the study estimated 45,645 occupied units in 2019 and 4,757 vacant units available to the market. It also classified 5,161 vacant units as unavailable to the housing market. Occupied units represented about 90.1% of the 50,402-unit resident-market stock, a measure that excludes the units classified as unavailable.
The Census Bureau’s 2020 Census housing data reported that 84.1% of all housing units were occupied. The difference between this figure and the GHURA study’s 2019 resident-market measure reflects different years, sources, and housing-unit universes rather than a direct year-over-year change.
Tenure was nearly balanced in the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau’s demographic and housing characteristics summary reported that 52.0% of occupied-unit householders were owners and 48.0% were renters. These percentages describe occupied-unit householders, not all housing units.
Income, values, rents, and housing-cost burden
For income received in 2019, Guam’s median household income was $58,289, according to the Census Bureau’s 2020 summary-file release. In the same 2019 period, 29,408 of 145,543 Guam residents in households with poverty status determined were below the poverty level, or 20.2%. Also, 21.8% of Guam households received SNAP benefits.
The 2020 Census housing data placed Guam’s median home value at $277,800 and median monthly rent at $1,057. These are broad Guam medians and should not be treated as current listings or as the price of a particular neighborhood, building type, or lease.
Housing-cost burden was notably different by tenure. In 2020, 16.1% of Guam homeowners spent 35% or more of household income on housing costs. The corresponding share for renters was 34.0%.
The Census Bureau’s 2020 island-area cross-tabulation also reported costs for newer units. For Guam homes built in 2019 or 2020 with a mortgage, median monthly owner costs were $1,567 in 2020. For homes built in 2019 or 2020 without a mortgage, median monthly owner costs were $409. The median gross rent for Guam households living in units built in 2019 or 2020 was $1,507.
| Guam indicator | Value | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,289 | 2019 income year |
| Median home value | $277,800 | 2020 Census housing data |
| Median monthly rent | $1,057 | 2020 Census housing data |
| Homeowners spending at least 35% on housing | 16.1% | 2020 |
| Renters spending at least 35% on housing | 34.0% | 2020 |
Guam does not have an American Community Survey. The Census Bureau’s 2020 Island Areas Census used a long-form questionnaire similar to the ACS. The detailed social, economic, and housing characteristics exclude military housing units and households living in military housing, so comparisons require attention to the specific universe used.
Home-purchase affordability
GHURA’s 2019 affordability calculations used Guam Housing Demand Survey results and Guam MLS inputs. For a single-family home, the December 2019 median sales price used in the calculation was $271,000. A 20% down payment was $54,200, and the calculated monthly mortgage payment was $1,318 under a 30-year fixed loan at 4%.
For a multifamily dwelling, the December 2019 median sales price was $169,000. The corresponding 20% down payment was $33,800, and the calculated monthly mortgage payment was $929 under the same 30-year fixed, 4% loan assumption.
| Purchase measure | Single-family | Multifamily |
|---|---|---|
| December 2019 median sales price | $271,000 | $169,000 |
| 20% down payment | $54,200 | $33,800 |
| Calculated monthly mortgage payment | $1,318 | $929 |
| Loan assumption | 30-year fixed at 4% | 30-year fixed at 4% |
The study identified 4,088 households with effective five-year demand for a single-family purchase and 727 households with effective five-year demand for a multifamily purchase. “Effective five-year demand” refers to the study’s 2019 survey and its 2020–2025 demand window.
Qualification rates differed sharply by housing type. Only 9.3% of households with effective five-year demand for a single-family purchase were fully qualified under the study’s payment-and-down-payment test. For multifamily purchases, 37.1% were fully qualified under that test. These are descriptive study estimates, not observed purchase completion rates.
Rental affordability and household demand
GHURA used an average monthly rent of $2,113 for its December 2019 single-family rental affordability calculation. The comparable average monthly rent for a multifamily rental was $1,427. These study inputs differ from the $1,057 Guam-wide median monthly rent reported in the 2020 Census housing data because they come from different measures and periods.
The 2019 Guam housing-demand survey found that 24,738 households said they wanted to move at some time in the future. The study estimated final 10-year demand at 19,479 households for the 2020–2030 window. Its effective 10-year demand estimate was 9,658 households planning to move and remain on Guam, while effective five-year demand was 9,336 households planning to move and remain on Guam during 2020–2025.
The distinction between stated desire to move, final demand, and effective demand matters for interpreting affordability. The estimates narrow the broader survey response to households expected to move, remain on Guam, and fit the study’s demand framework. They do not represent a count of completed moves.
Estimated housing need through 2025
The Analysis of Impediments for Guam, 2020 estimated 6,650 units of pent-up demand for 2020–2025. That component represented households not well qualified to buy or rent. The study added 2,768 units for household population growth between 2020 and 2025.
Together, pent-up demand and population demand produced a cumulative need for 9,418 units. The study then added 490 units for homeless households re-entering Guam’s housing market during the same period. Its final estimated Guam housing need was 9,908 units for 2020–2025.
These figures are estimates from the 2020 study, not observed 2026 outcomes. They describe a planning period ending in 2025 and should not be read as a current inventory shortfall without newer measurement.
Need by income level
The 9,908-unit estimate was distributed across HUD income bands expressed as percentages of area median income. The source does not provide dollar thresholds here, so the bands are retained as income classifications rather than converted into household-income amounts.
| HUD income classification | Estimated units needed, 2020–2025 |
|---|---|
| Below 30% of area median income | 3,401 |
| 30%–50% | 679 |
| 50%–60% | 935 |
| 60%–80% | 1,027 |
| 80%–100% | 1,359 |
| 100%–120% | 603 |
| 120%–140% | 223 |
| 140%–180% | 790 |
| Above 180% | 891 |
The largest single classification was households below 30% of area median income, with 3,401 needed units. The study also identified 1,359 units for households at 80%–100% of area median income and 891 units for households above 180%. The range shows that the estimated need extended across the income distribution, although the source does not establish that each band faces the same type or severity of affordability pressure.
Within the below-30% category, ownership units accounted for 1,240 units of Guam’s 2020–2025 need and rental units accounted for 2,162 units. The two figures describe tenure-specific components of the study’s income-band table.
Ownership, rental, and unit-type need
Of the 9,908 units in the 2020–2025 estimate, 4,903 were ownership units and 5,005 were rental units. The nearly even split masks different unit-type patterns within each tenure category.
Ownership need included 4,352 single-family units and 551 multifamily units. Rental need included 2,486 single-family units and 2,519 multifamily units.
| Estimated need component | Units, 2020–2025 |
|---|---|
| Total housing need | 9,908 |
| Ownership units | 4,903 |
| Rental units | 5,005 |
| Ownership: single-family | 4,352 |
| Ownership: multifamily | 551 |
| Rental: single-family | 2,486 |
| Rental: multifamily | 2,519 |
The income-band details also show concentrated rental needs. Rental units for households below 30% of area median income accounted for 2,162 units. Rental units for households at 80%–100% of area median income accounted for 723 units.
Taken together, the statistics describe several connected affordability pressures: a resident-market stock of 50,402 units in the 2019 GHURA assessment, a 2020 renter cost-burden share of 34.0%, purchase qualification rates of 9.3% for single-family demand and 37.1% for multifamily demand, and a study-estimated 9,908-unit need for 2020–2025. Each figure belongs to its stated source, geography, measurement date, and definition.