Housing Affordability
When we talk about housing affordability, the ability of households to secure safe, stable housing without spending more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage. Also known as housing cost burden, it’s not just about prices—it’s about whether a nurse, teacher, or delivery driver can live where they work. In 2025, nearly 1 in 3 U.S. households spends over half their income on housing. That’s not a stretch—it’s a survival mode. And it’s not just America. Cities from Toronto to Tokyo are seeing the same pattern: wages flatline while rents and home prices skyrocket.
This isn’t random. It’s the result of decades of underbuilding, zoning rules that block density, and financial systems that treat homes like investment assets, not places to live. rent prices, the monthly cost of leasing a home, often the largest expense for working families have jumped 40% since 2020 in the top 20 U.S. metros. Meanwhile, homeownership, the traditional path to building wealth through property is slipping out of reach for millennials and Gen Z. First-time buyers now need nearly double the income they did 15 years ago to qualify for a median-priced home. And in places like Austin, Portland, or Miami, you’re not just competing with locals—you’re competing with investors buying up entire apartment buildings.
What’s being done? Some cities are trying to fix zoning—letting fourplexes where only single homes used to be. Others are funding affordable housing trusts or offering tax breaks to developers who include low-income units. But most efforts are too small, too slow. The real shift won’t come from tax credits alone. It’ll come when we stop treating housing like a commodity and start treating it like a public good. That means building more, faster, and letting people live close to jobs, schools, and transit—not just where land is cheapest.
Below, you’ll find real stories and data-backed analysis on how this crisis is playing out across regions, how policy decisions are shaping outcomes, and what’s actually working in places that are turning the tide. No fluff. Just what’s happening, why it matters, and where change is possible.
