Half of All Renters Cannot Afford their Rent, Even with Full-Time Jobs

Rent has never been less affordable, especially for the middle class

"Half of American renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs — a key benchmark for affordability — with the financial strain rising the fastest for middle-class tenants."

Housing is now unaffordable for a record half of all U.S. renters, study finds

"Since 2019, the biggest jump in unaffordability was for households making $30,000 to $74,999 a year. Even among those working full time, a third of all renters were still cost-burdened."

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"We simply don't have enough homes that people can afford," says Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. "And when you combine rapidly rising rent — that it just costs more per month for people to get into a place and keep a place — you get this vicious game of musical chairs."

Homelessness systems are more efficient – but what’s driving homelessness increases?

"Increases in homelessness reflect a continued long-term trend, dating back many decades: rent goes up faster than wages."

"Like trying to use a bucket to save a sinking ship, it is impossible to make progress if the rate of people becoming homeless is higher than the rate of people being housed."

It's a Pain Being Felt Especially By Domestic Violence Survivors

As domestic violence survivors try to rebuild, they face another barrier: A housing crisis

"Domestic violence is widely regarded as the leading cause of homelessness for women and children nationally."

"The U.S. Department of Justice calls attention to multiple studies that have found between 22 and 57 percent of women and children who are experiencing homelessness became homeless due to domestic violence."

"Rising costs are pricing families out of affordable housing. It's a pain being felt especially by domestic violence survivors."

Local Impact in Arlington

The combination of Arlington's local housing crisis and the severity of harm survivors are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, has resulted in a steep increase in need for Doorways' emergency safehousing.

Nearly 60% of Arlington residents are renters. To afford a basic 2-bedroom apartment at fair market rent (FMR), households need to earn at least $35.35 per hour, or nearly $75,000 per year. Our minimum wage, however, is just $12 per hour. That means workers earning minimum wage have to work 118 hours per week—the equivalent of nearly 3 full-time, 40-hour-per-week jobs—to afford rent.

Meanwhile, in recent years, domestic violence has been increasing, and becoming more lethal. Survivors need affordable housing more than ever.

Total Survivors Sheltered in Doorways' Safehousing

Over the last five years, the number of survivors who Doorways shelters in our safehousing — Arlington's only emergency shelter for experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence — has more than doubled.

You Can Help –

3 Ways to Act Now!

1) Urge Your Members of Congress to to Prevent Catastrophic Cuts to VOCA

"Deposits into the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) remain lower than anticipated, and the $1.2 billion proposed by the House, the Senate, and in the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is a devastating $700 million cut. At this proposed funding level, thousands of victim service providers across the nation will be forced to lay off staff, cut programs, or—even worse—shut their doors."

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2) Urge Your Local Representatives to Put Victims First

Use this form to send a message to your representatives (~2 minutes or less) to invest in life-saving victim services.

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3) Sign Up for Alerts

"2024 will be a big year for homelessness. We need each and every person to stand with us. If you haven't yet done so, please sign up to receive our advocacy alerts and get time-sensitive information from us throughout the year."

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