The analysis focused particularly on the trends and events that affect agencies near the major population centers of San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The economic issues affecting police recruiting in these and other affluent areas are the cost of housing in the area, the cost of living in the area, the police salaries, and the salaries in nearby agencies. Results of the analysis indicated the need to establish a Housing Assistance Unit, either within a police department or elsewhere within city government. This unit would oversee several means of providing housing assistance to the officers who live in the city. These include incentive pay, subsidized loans, city-owned housing, and city rentals. The program would be expensive, but it would help pay for itself through increased numbers of job applicants and reduced employee turnover, sick leave, call-out costs, and overtime. Figures, appended study instruments and related materials, footnotes, and 4 references.