In an effort to address the rising cost of housing, Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it will pledge $1 billion in areas where it operates to create affordable units.

The company wrote in a blog post that it will build 20,000 housing units for middle- and lower-income households for “essential workers” such as nurses and teachers, people who may have been priced out of certain areas tech giants call home.

Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner noted that in San Francisco even a family making more than $100,000 is considered low-income, and though wages are high in the state, more people can’t afford to live in certain neighborhoods because of rocketing housing prices.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the issue needs to be addressed and social mobility in California needs to be restored.

“State government cannot solve housing affordability alone, we need others to join Facebook in stepping up,” Newsom said. “Progress requires partnership with the private sector and philanthropy to change the status quo and address the cost crisis our state is facing. Public-private partnerships around excess land is an important component in moving us forward.”

Over the next decade, Facebook said, it will give $250 million to the state of California for mixed-income housing on excess state-owned land in communities where housing is scarce. A further $150 million will go to building affordable houses for the homeless in the Bay Area.

Some $225 million will go to build 1,500 units for mixed-income families where Facebook is headquartered in Menlo Park, while an additional $350 million will be kept back for similar initiatives based on the effectiveness of the first programs. Finally, $25 million will go to creating units for teachers and other essential workers in the school districts of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Facebook follows Google LLC, which this year also pledged $1 billion to build affordable houses in San Francisco. In September Microsoft Corp. pledged $500 million to create affordable housing in Seattle.

Photo: Patrick Nouhailler/Flickr