Study: SEI Renters' Incomes Not Enough To Afford Decent Place

A new report found the cost of remaining stably housed continues to rise for average Hoosier renters in most Indiana counties. Decent housing is out of reach for low-wage workers in every county of the state.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - A new study says rents are unaffordable for low-wage workers in southeastern Indiana, as well as most of the state.

The report - Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing - from Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition says that in order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent on $834 in Indiana, a household must earn $2,779 monthly – or about $33,346 annually. The needed pay figure is up from last year’s study.

With almost a third of households statewide being rented, data shows that typical renter income is insufficient to afford rental housing in 82 of the state’s 92 counties. Included in that list are Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio and Ripley counties, where estimated average renter wages are among the lowest in the state.

The study suggests renters in southeastern Indiana have to work more than one 40-hour week job at the average renter wage in order to have enough money to afford a decent two-bedroom unit. For those making the state minimum wage of $7.25, paying the monthly rent is almost impossible.

In the Cincinnati area, the annual income needed to afford such an apartment is higher at $35,360 than Indiana. About 21 percent of homes in the area are rentals.

“For Hoosiers working full-time at minimum wage, there is a monthly deficit of over $450 to afford the state average fair market rate for a modest two-bedroom unit,” said Jessica Love, Prosperity Indiana’s executive director.  

Conservative figures cited in the study show that nearly 32,000 households statewide are evicted each year. With an affordable housing deficit of 134,485 units in Indiana, low-income earners have few options.

Love believes there is “an urgent need for action in implementing common-sense solutions at the federal and state level to address our affordable housing crisis.”

Indiana U.S. Senator Todd Young and others in the Senate last week introduced the HUD Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2019. The federal legislation is aimed at improving access to safe and stable housing would provide new support for state and local governments wishing to include manufactured homes as a solution.

“Solving the housing affordability crisis for Hoosiers of all income levels is going to require bold and innovative changes to our nation’s housing policies,” said Young. “With over 2.5 million Hoosiers already living in manufactured homes — and with Hoosier workers leading the way in construction of manufactured housing — I know it’s time to put greater emphasis on manufactured housing as a housing affordability solution.”

Another bill by Young, S. 1772, would establish a task force to assess the impact of the affordable housing crisis and identify possible solutions.

Rental housing needs have worsened considerably over the past 30 years since Out of Reach was first released. Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, says that although housing is out of reach for millions of low-wage workers, members of Congress are starting to take note.

“Big, robust housing bills have been introduced by key policymakers. The topic of affordable housing is becoming increasingly prevalent on the 2020 presidential campaign trails. We now have a tremendous opportunity to implement bold federal housing policy solutions that will fund affordable housing programs at the scale necessary,” said Yentel.