New research from the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio finds that local residents overwhelmingly support solutions to ease our housing shortage and respond to extensive housing insecurity felt across the region. “Overwhelming: Central Ohio’s Housing Survey” is the most comprehensive research to-date on how residents really feel about policies that create more housing options and lower the cost of owning or renting a home.

The new study finds that a supermajority – 78% of residents from across the region – support housing rules that let property owners build Missing Middle housing on any residential lot. Missing Middle homes are duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes that are stylistically compatible with the existing homes in that area. While common in Central Ohio’s historic neighborhoods, they are nearly impossible to build in many communities because of restrictive zoning laws. A large majority of local residents support creating more of these Missing Middle styles even when they’re added to existing single-family neighborhoods, when they are located next door to their own homes, and when they are priced at an affordable rate.

Central Ohio residents also overwhelmingly support other land use reforms that have been used to increase the supply of housing and lower costs. Over 80% of respondents support converting commercial buildings to housing, allowing more apartments near job and transit centers, allowing churches and nonprofits to build homes more easily, adding apartments to business areas, and giving homeowners the right to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (“ADU”).

This overwhelming support was retained throughout the region, with results nearly identical between City of Columbus residents and those living in suburban communities. Suburban residents were slightly more likely to favor six policies (allowing smaller homes, homes near transit and job centers, homes near commercial areas, speeding bureaucratic processes, allowing commercial conversions to housing, giving churches and nonprofits more flexibility to build housing), City residents were slightly more likely to support three (allowing property owners to determine their own parking needs, adding missing middle on any residential lot, and internal ADUs) and one policy garnered even support (external ADUs). The average difference between suburban support and urban support was only 2 percentage points.

Comparing these results to a similar survey conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts in November 2023 shows that Central Ohioans are generally more supportive of pro-housing reforms than other communities across the nation, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, and California.

Notably, “Not In My Back Yard” rates, or those who identified as “strongly opposed” to housing policies, were exceptionally low in Central Ohio. Only 3% of respondents strongly opposed building apartments near job centers, only 4% strongly opposed allowing churches and nonprofits to build more housing, and only 5% strongly opposed Accessory Dwelling Units. Only one policy registered a strong opposition rate above 10% (building smaller homes closer together, to which only 11% of people were strongly opposed).  

The survey also found that housing instability was widespread across the region, potentially fueling more support for housing reforms. Half of all respondents had been personally and negatively impacted by Central Ohio’s housing shortage. Almost three-quarters had a loved one impacted. In the event in the event of a financial emergency, a high percentage of Central Ohioans lack sufficient savings to cover their housing costs; 28% of residents do not have enough savings to cover a full month of rent or mortgage costs.

Read the full report below for even more survey results and in depth analysis.