Affordable Housing

Lost in the national craze over the real estate boom of the past 15 years is the fact that the need for affordable housing has increased, not decreased, in recent times. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. In New Jersey, where Home was filmed, a worker would need to earn at least three times the minimum wage to reasonably afford a one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit.

What is affordable?

Housing costs below 30 percent of a household's annual income are considered affordable. When a family has to pay more than 30 percent of what they earn on housing, it can greatly harm their ability to pay for other basic needs such as clothing, food, and medical care. Many people are stretched to the limit. Over 12 million households pay over 50 percent of their income for housing. And many, of course, loose their homes. An estimated 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness in any given year, 1.35 million of them children.