We contrast measures of housing assistance for MTW agencies against those of a set of 779 traditional PHAs that served at least 750 households during the study period. These larger PHAs more closely resemble MTW agencies in terms of size, program mix, and housing market contexts.

The assistance provided by MTW agencies in 2008 and 2016 closely resembles that provided by similarly sized traditional PHAs. In 2016, the MTW agencies and the comparison traditional PHAs provided a similar mix of public housing and HCV program assistance and served households with similar characteristics. On average, the MTW agencies and comparison traditional PHAs served households of similar size and composition, with similar average incomes, at similar income levels relative to local area medians, and with similar rent burdens. Households served by each set of agencies also tended to live in neighborhoods with similar poverty rates. Nevertheless, the individual MTW agencies differ substantially from one another. The chart below displays characteristics—including race/ethnicity, household composition, elderly and disability status, and income—of the households served by each MTW agency compared with the averages for traditional PHAs and MTW agencies.