Everyone should have a safe and stable home, yet there are too many Americans who do not. As of 2022, half of renters—that is, over 22 million Americans—were cost burdened (paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing), and a record 12 million Americans severely burdened by paying more than half their income for housing. Nearly one-quarter of existing homeowners are cost-burdened, and homeownership is increasingly out of reach for new buyers due to record home prices. Correspondingly, homelessness surged 18 percent in 2024 to a record high, with the most growth among families with children.
In our housing research at AIR, we partner with residents, housing providers, governments, and community organizations to better understand whether and how people can afford housing, what it’s like to raise a family where they live, how people cope when they lose their housing, and how where people live helps or hinders them to build healthy lives, families, and communities. Using community-based, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research, and evidence-based technical assistance, we lift up innovations, build an evidence base about what works, and share learning across communities.
