What We Mean by Affordability

• Affordability means that households can pay for their housing without sacrificing their other basic needs.
• Housing is generally considered affordable when a household spends no more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs. 
• When families exceed that threshold, they are forced to make difficult tradeoffs — between rent and groceries, between mortgage payments and childcare, between stability and opportunity. 
• In Connecticut, too many households exceed that threshold — and many spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing.
• Affordability is foundational to economic mobility, health, and long-term and community well-being.
  

Why Housing Affordability Matters in Connecticut

Housing costs in Connecticut consistently exceed national averages, and the gap between housing prices and wages has widened in recent years.

Renters face increasing housing wages that outpace earnings. Homeownership has moved further out of reach for many first-time buyers. Rising costs affect not only low-income households but also middle-income families trying to stay in the communities where they work. Cost burden is not evenly distributed. Black and Hispanic households experience disproportionately high housing cost burdens, reflecting longstanding racial disparities in income, wealth, and access to opportunity. For current data, trends, and analysis, see our annual State of Housing in Connecticut report.

What Drives Housing Affordability?

• Housing costs rising faster than wages

• Limited housing supply across income levels

• Insufficient rental assistance relative to need

• Structural inequities in wealth and income
  
  

What Increases Housing Affordability?

Improving affordability requires both immediate relief and long-term structural reform.

This includes:

• Expanding rental assistance
• Increasing housing supply across income levels
• Removing barriers to multifamily and middle housing
• Aligning housing policy with workforce and economic strategy

Affordability solutions must prevent crises for people today while reducing cost burdens over time.

Explore Affordability Resources

Click here to explore all of our affordability resources — including research, fact sheets, blog posts, legislative testimony, and advocacy tools.