Study Shows Disparity in
Wages, Housing Costs

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has released its 2024 Out of Reach report, calling attention to the disparity between wages and the cost of rental housing in the U.S. 

From the report: “In no state, metropolitan area, or county in the U.S. can a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage, or the prevailing state or local minimum wage afford a modest two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent. In 2024, a full-time worker needs to earn an hourly wage of $32.11 on average to afford a modest, two-bedroom rental home in the U.S. and $26.74 to afford a modest one-bedroom rental home.”

For Indiana-specific data, the average renter’s wage is $17.92 but workers need to earn $22.07 in order to afford two-bedroom rental housing. Statewide, 26% of rental households are below 30% AMI (area median income).

“For the first time in recent history, less than a third of Indiana’s Top 20 largest occupations pay wages sufficient to meet the state’s Housing Wage,” said Andrew Bradley, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Prosperity Indiana. “Only a quarter of Hoosiers working in the state’s most popular occupations earn enough on average to afford rent. This is not helping Hoosiers get ahead. With the cost of housing increasingly out of reach for Indiana families, we need coordinated efforts by our federal, state, and local policymakers to raise wages and increase the supply of safe, stable, and affordable housing for all Hoosiers,” said Bradley.

Click here to access an interactive map with state-specific data and to download the full report.