NLIHC's 2025 Out of Reach report (OOR) was released on Thursday, 7/17. The report shows that the national Housing Wage is $33.63 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $28.17 for a modest one-bedroom. This year’s report demonstrates that the wages needed to rent a modest home far exceed not just the federal minimum wage but also the median wages of workers in many of the most common occupations, such as home health aides, food service workers, and administrative assistants. Almost half of all U.S. workers earn less than the hourly wage required to afford a modest one-bedroom rental home.
The report also underscores that without long-term and robust federal investment in proven housing solutions, safe, stable, accessible, and affordable housing will remain out of reach for millions of renters.
For the full OOR report, visit: nlihc.org/oor
The Impact
NLIHC is committed to ensuring that the narrative on the nation’s housing affordability and homelessness crisis is directly supported by data. As we released the report, we also hosted a national press call to share the report’s findings with members of the media. The call was joined by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), who authored the preface of the report. The call also included a person with lived expertise who provided the context on how housing affordability is inextricably connected to housing instability and increased risk of homelessness. Nearly 20 members of media joined the call, including reporters from NBC, NPR, NY Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.
On launch day for the report, nearly 100 news outlets sited the report’s latest findings, including nearly 30 articles focused exclusively on its publication.