Affordable housing is out of reach for the lowest income renters in Illinois.
We’re joining the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) and allies across the county for a national Day of Action today, June 16, to urge Congress to approve and the President to sign full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 spending bills that provide increased funding for the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Agriculture (USDA).
We’re urging federal legislators to make these investments at a time when rent is out of reach for far too many.
In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment in Illinois, renters working full-time need to earn $24.59 per hour.
This is Illinois’ 2023 Housing Wage, revealed in the national Out of Reach report jointly released in Illinois earlier this week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois.
The report highlights the severity and scope of the affordable housing crisis in our country: in no state, metropolitan area, or county can a full-time minimum-wage worker afford a modest two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent.
With the country continuing to navigate the economic fallout from the pandemic—including steep increases in the cost of rent and delays in the construction of affordable housing—the importance of enacting comprehensive spending bills that provide increased funding for vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs cannot be overstated.
Contact your representatives and senators and urge them to provide the highest possible funding in FY24 for HUD and USDA.
If you’re calling, which we particularly appreciate, here is a script you can follow »
Out of Reach
What do the numbers look like in Illinois?
- A person earning the state minimum wage of $13 per hour must have 1.6 full-time job(s) or work 65 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.
- A person earning the state minimum wage must have 1.9 full-time job(s) or work 76 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
- While the minimum wage in the Chicago area is higher, the Housing Wage in this area is also higher, climbing to $27.69.
- Even in more affordable counties, the lowest the Housing Wage in Illinois goes is $14.88. Learn more »
