NLIHC was founded on the principle that data-driven advocacy works. By conducting ongoing, rigorous, and timely research, we make clear the need to ensure housing for America’s lowest-income people.

Every year, we release our signature research publications: Out of Reach and The Gap. Out of Reach reports on the mismatch between what workers can afford and the market rents they must pay in every community in the United States. The Gap documents the gap between the number of renter households and rental units that are affordable and available to them, as well as housing cost burdens, by income groupings in every state and the largest 50 metropolitan areas.

Our research team also produces Congressional District Profiles, which empower policy advocates with specialized data from their own communities. We also produce specialized analyses of current issues, like emergency rental assistance, housing recovery after disasters, and the affordability gap.

Memo to Members and Partners Articles

Report Analyzes Development Costs for LIHTC Projects

A report by Abt Associates analyzed data from more than 2,500 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects developed and placed into service between 2011 and 2016. The intent of the analysis was to discern the factors affecting development costs. Overall, the report found that location, project…

Report Recommends Improvements to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Could Do More to Expand Opportunity for Poor Families, finds that Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) housing is disproportionately concentrated in higher-poverty and racially concentrated neighborhoods. The…