Out of Reach Press Contact and Kit
Please complete the information below to receive press updates on NLIHC's Out of Reach.
The presskit (English) contains images from Out of Reach that can be used online or in print. Permission to reprint all or some of the images is granted, provided appropriate credit is given to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). All images are copyright of NLIHC.
For questions regarding media coverage and reprints, please contact Lisa Marlow, Director of Communications, [email protected], 202-662-1530 x813.
RENTS ARE OUT OF REACH
Low-income families in a variety of circumstances struggle to afford housing at the one- and two-bedroom fair market rent.
HOURLY WAGES BY PERCENTILE VS. ONE- AND TWO-BEDROOM HOUSING WAGES
Chart shows hourly wages of workers by percentile compared to the Housing Wages needed to afford a one- and two-bedroom apartment. More than sixty percent of all workers earn an hourly wage that is less than the two-bedroom Housing Wage, and more than half of all workers earn an hourly wage that is less than the one-bedroom Housing Wage.
SEVENTEEN OF THE TWENTY FIVE LARGEST OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES PAY LESS THAN THE ONE-AND TWO BEDROOM HOUSING WAGES
Chart compares the median hourly wages of the county’s most common low-wage occupations with the national one- and two-bedroom housing wage. Seventeen of the 25 most common occupations pay median wages that are lower than the one- and two-bedroom Housing Wages.
HOURLY WAGE PERCENTILES VS. ONE- AND TWO-BEDROOM HOUSING WAGES, BY RACE & ETHNICITY
Chart shows wages earned by percentile for White, Black, and Latino workers compared to the one- and two-bedroom housing wage. The median Black and Latino worker earn approximately $6.01 and $7.09 less per hour, respectively, compared to the median white worker.
MEDIAN HOURLY WAGES BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER
Median hourly wages among women are less than median hourly wages among men. Workers with multiple marginalized identities, including Black women and Latina women, earn the lowest wages.
2025 TWO-BEDROOM RENTAL HOUSING WAGES
Even in states with the least expensive rents, a renter working full time and earning less than $18 per hour is unable to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. Housing wages are highest in traditionally high-cost states, like California, Hawaii, New York, and Massachusetts but areas with lower housing wages tend to have lower wages, so tenants in these areas still struggle to afford housing.
About the Report
Out of Reach documents the significant gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing across the United States. The report’s central statistic, the Housing Wage, is an estimate of the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, the accepted standard of affordability. The FMR is an estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental home in a given area.