The term "affordable housing" refers to housing that is considered economically accessible for individuals and families whose household income falls at or below the Area Median Income (AMI), as evaluated by either national or local government authorities through an officially recognized housing affordability index. However, in the United States, the term is mostly used to refer to housing units that are deed restricted (for typically at least 30 years) to households considered Low-Income (80% of AMI), Very Low-Income (50% of AMI), and Extremely Low-Income (30% of AMI). These units are often constructed by non-profit "affordable housing developers" who use a combination of private money and government subsidies. For-profit developers, when building market-rate developments, may include some "affordable" units (often 10-30%), if required as part of a city's inclusionary zoning mandate.

Housing has consistently been the largest expenditure within the average American family's financial plan. Housing expenses have also traditionally outpaced income growth, especially impacting those who rent their residences. Following the Great Recession in 2008, there has been a substantial decline in the rate of home ownership, leading to increases in foreclosures and short sales. This, in turn, has driven a surge in the number of individuals and families opting to rent homes, causing greater rental expenses.

According to the 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimates, median gross rent, including utilities, rose by 2.7 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, from $1,448 in 2023 to $1,487 in 2024. The median share of income paid toward rent remained 31 percent.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its annual report, Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing in June 2023, showing a disparity between people's earnings and the cost of modest rental housing across the U.S. It emphasizes how rising rents, coupled with the end of COVID-19 pandemic-era support programs, are intensifying financial instability for low-income renters. The report's key figure, the "Housing Wage," reveals the hourly earnings necessary for full-time workers to afford fair market rental homes without exceeding 30% of their incomes. Nationally, the 2023 Housing Wage is $28.58 per hour for a modest two-bedroom home and $23.67 per hour for a one-bedroom home. The findings emphasize that housing remains unaffordable for workers across various job types and income levels. Sixty percent of workers earn less than the hourly wage required for a two-bedroom home, and nearly 50% earn less than the one-bedroom Housing Wage.

Some of the main issues which lead to the need for affordable housing are homelessness, the housing affordability crisis, and historic housing discrimination against people of color. The reported effects of affordable housing range from improved health and educational outcomes to reduced homelessness. A series of legislative steps have been taken to address different aspects of housing policy in the United States, including the National Housing Act of 1934, Housing Act of 1937, Housing Act of 1949, and Fair Housing Act of 1968. Together, these acts represent a progression of federal housing policy, from facilitating mortgage insurance and creating public housing options to emphasizing the importance of affordable and equitable housing opportunities, while also addressing discrimination and promoting fair housing practices. Government policies and programs, such as subsidized housing, tax incentives, and inclusionary zoning, coupled with innovative solutions like tenant protections, mixed-income developments, and homeownership programs, have contributed to shaping the affordable housing landscape in the U.S.

In 2025, U.S. News & World Report published a list of cities with affordable housing offering some 1br apartments in the range of $500-$600 per month. https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/cheapest-places-to-live

Housing discrimination and equity

Homelessness

Central to public discourse on housing affordability is the conversation surrounding advocacy for unhoused and homeless individuals. The evolution of homelessness within the U.S. has been characterized by significant changes not only in perceived solutions, but also in the gradual politicization of statewide provisioning for unhoused and displaced persons. Homelessness first emerged as a national issue in the early 1870s, although the term originally referred to "itinerant 'tramps' traversing the country in search of work,""Permanent Supportive Housing: Evaluating the Evidence for Improving Health Outcomes Among People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness." NCBI, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 11 July 2018 attributing the solution to homelessness as one of employment and job provision rather than affordable and accessible housing.

The advent of "muckraking" journalism, led by reform-focused journalists in the early 1900s Progressive Era who were focused on exposing corruption and "the realities of the American people" to the public, helped shed new light on the issue of homelessness and displacement. Particularly notable is the work of Danish photojournalist Jacob Riis, most known for his series "How the Other Half Lives." Riis's photography work revealed the deplorable living conditions of those occupying U.S. slums and tenements, drawing more public attention towards the issue of homelessness.Riis, Jacob A., et al. "Jacob Riis: Revealing 'How the Other Half Lives' Riis and Reform." Riis and Reform – Jacob Riis: Revealing "How the Other Half Lives" | Exhibitions – Library of Congress, 14 Apr. 2016, www.loc.gov/exhibits/jacob-riis/riis-and-reform.html. This awareness helped to usher in the "Modern Era" of the housing movement, as advocates and civil rights activists attempted to address the low supply of affordable housing, a worsening recession, and continued gentrification of inner city spaces."The Evolution of Homelessness throughout History." ABC7 News, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2020, abc7amarillo.com/features/invisible/the-evolution-of-homelessness-throughout-history.

The homelessness experience for individuals simultaneously coping with severe mental disorders is often intrinsically tied to the extended "institutional circuit"PhD, Kim Hopper, et al. "Homelessness, Severe Mental Illness, and the Institutional Circuit." Psychiatric Services, vol. 48, no. 5, May 1997, pp. 659–665., . intended to function as a solution to residential instability. In a 1995 research study that interviewed applicants for a homeless shelter judged to be severely mentally ill in Westchester County, New York, researchers found that shelters functioned as "part of a more extended institutional circuit, as a temporary source of transitional housing, as a surrogate for exhausted support from kin, and as a haphazard resource in essentially nomadic lives." This perpetuation of short-term countermeasures to homelessness, all while de-prioritizing long-term options for stable and appropriate housing, raises the issue of whether shelters and existing institutional models are fully addressing the needs of mentally ill clients who have been displaced or houseless.

With the existing reliance on community shelters to accommodate mentally ill clients, the reinforcement of housing as a public need is also coupled by the de-institutionalization of mental illnesses previously addressed in custody and asylum.Yohanna, Daniel. "Deinstitutionalization of People with Mental Illness: Causes and Consequences." Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association, American Medical Association, 1 Oct. 2013, journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/deinstitutionalization-people-mental-illness-causes-and-consequences/2013-10. The rise of the 1960s civil rights movement led to more public demands for severely mentally ill patients to be removed from the "deplorable environments" perpetuated by mental hospitals, asylums, and the like. Legal restrictions on institutionalization have pointed towards placing the responsibility of care on a largely decentralized mental care system.

Redlining

After the Great Depression and the subsequent wave of home foreclosures, the federal government created new organizations to make affordable home mortgages more accessible. These agencies included the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA). HOLC and FHA conducted extensive evaluations of neighborhoods to assess their investment risk, a practice known as "redlining," which took into consideration the racial composition of residents.

Redlining led to the systematic denial of various services, particularly mortgage loans, insurance, and other financial services, to people in specific neighborhoods based on their racial or ethnic composition. This practice has had a long-lasting impact on housing affordability and access to homeownership for minority communities in the United States. Redlining became widespread in the 1930s and continued for several decades but was officially banned with the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 and the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. The discriminatory practice of redlining used by governments made it extremely difficult for residents of redlined neighborhoods to accumulate wealth.

Although redlining is no longer a formal practice, its legacy continues to influence patterns of housing discrimination, disparities in homeownership rates, and access to housing and community resources for minority populations. The 2023 Out of Reach report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition highlights a substantial housing cost disparity for people of color, particularly women of color. The report's key figure, the "Housing Wage," reveals the hourly earnings necessary for full-time workers to afford fair market rental homes without exceeding 30% of their incomes. Nationally, while the median wage of a full-time white worker surpasses the one-bedroom Housing Wage by $2.23, full-time Black and Latino workers fall short by approximately $0.73 and $1.84, respectively. The disparity worsens for women of color, with Black and Latina female workers earning median wages that are $3.96 and $5.47 less than the one-bedroom Housing Wage, respectively.

Additionally, an ecologic study published by SSM – Population Health in 2021 found a strong correlation between past instances of redlining and ongoing instances of discriminatory lending practices in Milwaukee County. More specifically, the researchers identified a direct link between redlining and adverse mental and physical health outcomes within the city. The observed pattern of increased lending discrimination corresponding with declining health indicates that structural racism, evident in historical and contemporary lending disinvestment, serves as a predictor for poor health outcomes in the deeply segregated neighborhoods of Milwaukee.

Government policies and programs

Subsidized housing

Various government policies and programs have been put in place to address affordable housing. One such program is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses to provide rental assistance vouchers to eligible low-income households. The program offers financial aid to households with an annual gross income not surpassing 50% of HUD's median income criteria. HUD mandates that 75% of newly enrolled households should fall at or below 30% of the area's median income. Eligibility considers various factors such as household income, size, composition, citizenship status, assets, and essential expenses like healthcare and childcare. In the United States, the widely accepted standard for identifying households with extremely low incomes is either income at or below the federal poverty guideline or 30% of the area median income (AMI), whichever is higher.