Low Income Housing Tax Credits in the Chicago metro area

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the largest federal initiative for building affordable housing. WBEZ analyzed where those tax credits have been used in the Chicago metro area since the program began in 1986. We found that outside the city there are few LIHTC developments in more affluent suburbs. Instead they tend to be clustered in suburbs with large minority populations and higher rates of poverty. | Related story

= LIHTC project

Percent African-American residents

  • 80%+
  • 60%
  • 40%
  • 20%
  • 0%

Poverty Rate

  • 40%+
  • 30%
  • 20%
  • 10%
  • 0%

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2013 American Community Survey