Out Now: Out of Reach 2026

On July 23, NLIHC released Out of Reach 2026: The High Cost of Housing. Published annually, the Out of Reach report highlights the gulf between the wages people earn and the price of modest rental housing in every state, county, and metropolitan area in the U.S. This year’s report finds that, amidst economic uncertainty and labor market softening in 2025, affordable rental homes remain out of reach for millions of low-wage workers, families, and other renters. 87% of extremely low-income renter households are cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing and utilities, and 74% are extremely cost-burdened, spending 50% or more of their income on housing and utilities.

With housing costs so much higher than what many people can afford, a growing number of renters are forced to spend more of their incomes to keep a roof over their heads. The impact is especially severe for the nation’s lowest-income renters, and the consequences are devastating. With a majority of their income consumed by housing, little is left to cover life’s other necessities like food, childcare, transportation, or healthcare. Severely cost-burdened poor renters spend 39% less on food and 42% less on healthcare than unburdened poor renters, indicating potentially painful choices between rent and other needs for survival.

Out of Reach 2026 highlights the significant need for subsidies to assist the lowest-income renters. Despite this need, federal resources for affordable housing remain insufficient. Funding for federal housing programs is discretionary, and must be authorized by Congress and the president through the annual appropriations process. Currently, only one in four eligible households receives federal housing assistance due to chronic underfunding. This underfunding is largely a result of housing assistance programs competing for limited discretionary federal funding.

A new section in the report this year highlights how military spending has been prioritized over basic housing needs for decades. Defense funding in the U.S. already made up nearly half (45%) of total discretionary spending in 2026, and the President’s FY27 budget request asks for a 28% increase in military spending while calling for a 10% cut to non-defense discretionary programs. As the cost of living continues to rise driven in part by tariffs and a war of choice, Congress should carefully consider whether further cutting into the non-defense portion of the discretionary budget is the right choice for their constituents. The Trump administration and Congress should work to prioritize low-income families struggling with high housing costs by increasing funding for housing assistance programs instead of proposing to cut them.

“Recovery, Mental Health, and Housing” Webinar Recap

The campaign and Roundtable member Legal Action Center hosted a webinar on July 14 outlining the connection between access to affordable housing and recovery for individuals with substance use disorders and/or mental health conditions.

Speakers included:

• Julie Walker, OSAH Project Manager, NLIHC
• Victoria Palacio Carr, Deputy Director of State Strategy, Legal Action Center (LAC)
• Anita Burgos, PhD, Director of Public Policy, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• Marcella Maguire, PhD, Director of Health Systems Integration, Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
• Jesse Rabinowitz, Campaign and Communications Director, National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC)
• Ariel Johnson, Director of Operations, Martinsville, and Patient Navigation, Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition (VHRC)

“Addressing Homelessness Among College Students” Webinar Recap

The campaign and Roundtable members New America, and SchoolHouse Connection hosted a webinar on June 18, 2026, at 3:00 pm ET, addressing the state of homelessness on parenting college students. Partners discussed the impacts of homelessness and housing insecurity on parenting students and presented various data-driven solutions.

Speakers included:

• Chantelle Wilkinson, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Campaigns, NLIHC

• Julie Walker, OSAH Project Manager, NLIHC

• Richard Davis Jr., Policy Analyst, New America Higher Education Policy Program

• Ewa Obatuase, Policy Analyst, New America Higher Education Policy Program

• Barbara Duffield, Executive Director, SchoolHouse Connection

• Harper, SchoolHouse Connection Scholar

NRDC Perspectives Article – Pursuing Housing Affordability Justice and Energy Affordability

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a campaign Steering Committee member, shared a recent perspectives article, “My Quest for Energy Affordability and Housing Justice is Both Personal and Professional,” that details the experiences of Jasmine Valdovinos, NRDC Climate & Energy Advocacy Associate, navigating housing and energy assistance programs with her family in Oakland, California. As renters with low-income, her family faced barriers to accessing complicated energy affordability, housing, and weatherization assistance programs. Jasmine connects these experiences to the national issue of exclusion of the most vulnerable families from programs meant to serve them, and recommends program reforms to make them more flexible, accessible to renters, and trauma informed. She also recommends the creation of community-based navigation and advocacy systems to support residents in completing applications and communicating with government agencies.

The Increasing Need for Affordable Housing with Support Services

Shelterforce, an independent newsroom that serves affordable housing and community development practitioners, published an article, “Unsupported Housing, When Stability Isn’t enough” outlining the increasing need for comprehensive support from affordable housing providers. The article identifies challenges that traditional affordable housing providers face in providing wraparound services to their residents and asks readers to consider true support as going beyond just providing affordable housing and toward a system dedicated to ending chronic homelessness and ensuring housing stability through a full scope of safety-net systems.

HUD Releases 3-Year Follow-Up Report for The Housing and Children’s Healthy Development Study

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Fact of the Month: Black and Latina women face some of the steepest wage gaps in the labor market