NLIHC Finds Shortage of 7.2 Million Affordable and Available Homes for Extremely Low-Income Renters

By Raquel Harati, NLIHC Research Analyst  

NLIHC released its annual report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, on Thursday, March 5. The report finds that extremely low-income renters in the United States face a shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available rental homes. This shortage of affordable housing leaves extremely low-income renters saddled with the highest rates of housing cost burdens among any income group, with 87% spending more than 30% of their income on housing and 74% facing severe cost burdens, spending more than 50% of their income. The report finds that nearly a quarter of all renter households across the country fall into the category of having extremely low incomes, demonstrating the significant share of the market that these renters represent. The report’s findings underscore the dire need for legislators to prioritize the affordability challenges of extremely low-income renters in U.S. housing policy. 

For every 100 renter households with extremely low incomes, only 35 affordable and available rental homes exist nationally. No state or major metropolitan area has a sufficient supply of affordable and available homes for extremely low-income renters. Among states, the supply of affordable and available rental homes ranges from 16 affordable and available homes for every 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 homes affordable and available to the lowest-income renters exceeds 100,000 rental homes. While affordability challenges for renters further up the income ladder do emerge in some high-cost communities, extremely low-income renters face the most acute affordability challenges—and they face them everywhere throughout the country. 

Nationally, Black, Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI) households are disproportionately impacted by the shortage of affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters since they are disproportionately represented in this group. Eighteen percent of Black households, 16% of AIAN households, 15% of NHPI households, and 13% of Latino households are extremely low-income renters, compared to just 6% of white non-Latino households. Similarly, people of color among these groups also disproportionately experience housing cost burdens.  

The report explores how the private market alone is fundamentally unable to meet the needs of extremely low-income renters. Insufficient federal funding for housing assistance programs only exacerbates this problem—leaving three out of four eligible renter households without support. There is a great need to expand federal funding through bipartisan legislation to ensure all households who qualify for rental assistance actually receive it. Funding deeply targeted programs like the national Housing Trust Fund, Housing Choice Vouchers, and public housing can alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for the lowest-income renters. Reforms should also be made to ensure program efficiency and incentivize landlord participation. Investments should be made in emergency rental assistance programs to assist households experiencing short-term financial hardships as well. These actions are needed to preserve and expand the supply of deeply affordable housing, close the gap between incomes and rents, and promote housing stability for the lowest-income renters across the country.  

Read the full 2026 The Gap report and find an interactive state map at: https://nlihc.org/gap. Free copies of The Gap will be available to Forum 2026 attendees.