Tampa Bay households "doubling up" as housing need grows

• The report assumes that those people would live on their own if they had other options but acknowledged that's not always the case.
• Similarly, not all family members who live together would continue that arrangement if they had other options.

By the numbers: Tampa had an average of about 1.6 "doubled up" families per unit with a deficit of 28,000 units.

• Lakeland's rate was a bit higher, at 1.9 families per unit but a deficit of 7,000.
• By comparison, denser cities like Los Angeles and Boston had rates of 4 and 5.7, respectively.

Zoom out: Across the country, those individuals or families who doubled up totaled about 8 million in 2021, the report said. That's compared with just 3.7 million housing units available for rent or sale, making for a deficit of 4.3 million.

• Two-thirds of those individuals or families had an income of $35,000 or less.