NLIHC Releases The Gap 2026: A Shortage of Affordable Homes

Report reveals a national shortage of 7.2 million homes affordable and available for extremely low-income renters

Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) published The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes.

The 2026 The Gap report finds a national shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renter households – those with incomes at or below the poverty level or 30% of their area median income, whichever is greater - resulting in just 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households nationwide. No state has an adequate supply of affordable rental housing for the lowest-income renters.

“The findings from The Gap show that no state or major metropolitan area has an adequate supply of affordable and available homes for extremely low-income renters,” said NLIHC President and CEO Renee M. Willis, “It is a sad fact that only one in four households who qualify for housing assistance receive it. When renters are housing cost-burdened, they cannot afford to cover other basic necessities such as food, healthcare, transportation, or childcare. Congress has the solutions to increase housing affordability across the country. They must support robust housing assistance programs that can alleviate the housing crisis and ensure the wellbeing of millions of the lowest-income renters.”

Released annually, The Gap investigates the affordability and availability of rental homes for households of different income levels nationwide and in every state and major metropolitan area. 

This year’s key findings include:

• Extremely low-income renters face the most acute shortfall of affordable and available homes. Nationally, there is a shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available rental homes for 11 million extremely low-income renter households. Only 35 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 of these lowest-income renters.
• Extremely low-income renters are far more likely than other renters to be severely cost- burdened. Seventy-four percent of the 11 million extremely low-income renters nationally are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities. These renters represent almost a quarter of all renters, but 68% of all severely cost-burdened renters.
• Black, Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) households are disproportionately extremely low-income renters and disproportionately impacted by the housing shortage. Eighteen percent of Black non-Latino households, 16% of AIAN households, and 13% of Latino households are extremely low-income renters compared to just 6% of white households.
• No state or major metropolitan area has an adequate supply of affordable and available homes for extremely low-income renters. Shortages of affordable and available homes for these renters range from 7,154 in South Dakota to nearly one million in California. The relative supply ranges from 16 affordable and available homes per 100 extremely low- income renter households in Nevada to 73 in South Dakota. In 13 of the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, the absolute shortage of affordable and available homes exceeds 100,000 units.

Addressing the nation’s housing crisis requires policies that directly respond to the scale and severity of the affordability challenges facing extremely low-income renters. Congress must increase investments in deeply targeted rental subsidies, strengthen programs that preserve existing affordable housing, and fund emergency assistance programs to prevent evictions. State and local governments can also bolster affordable housing development by reforming zoning laws and reducing burdensome regulations. Without these interventions, the housing market will continue to fall short of meeting the needs of extremely low-income renters.

Learn more about The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes report and view an interactive map at: https://nlihc.org/gap.

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