Rent relief available
The City of Milpitas has reopened its rent relief program and is accepting new applications. Launched in March, the Workforce Housing Rental Assistance Program will offer up to $5,000 per calendar year to Milpitas residents experiencing financial hardship.
The Milpitas City Council has allocated $700,000 of 2022-23 state budget funds to provide financial assistance to 140 low-income residents who are struggling with past-due rental payments, relocation due to domestic violence, eviction, first month’s deposit, Section 8 vouchers and homelessness.
Applicants must demonstrate residency for at least six months, be at or below 120% of Housing and Community Development income levels for Santa Clara County and rent from verified landlords using an established lease agreement. Unhoused applicants must be confirmed by WeHope, the city’s homeless outreach provider.
The application period currently has no set date for closure. For more information and to apply, visit forwardplatform.com/city-of-milpitas-rent-relief-program.
Top 10 income
Milpitas had the fifth highest median income among the six Bay Area cities ranked in the top 10 of a recent survey.
SmartAsset ranked 636 U.S. cities based on the percentage change in median household income from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023. Milpitas came in at No. 8 with a median income of $179,727 in 2023, up from $169,818 the previous year for an 5.84% increase. The percentage of Milpitas households earning $100,000 or more went up from 72.3% in 2022 to 72.9% in 2023. The percentage of households earning $200,000 or more also jumped, from 41.7% in 2022 to 47.2% in 2023.
San Ramon was No. 2 in the rankings, followed by Sunnyvale at No. 4, Palo Alto and Mountain View at Nos. 6-7, respectively, and Pleasanton at No. 9. The top 10 was bookended by cities in Washington, with Sammamish at No. 1 and Redmond at No. 10.
Data for the survey came from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2022 and 2023 for 636 cities with a population of at least 65,000. To see the full study, visit https://smartasset.com/data-studies/income-increases-2024.
