INDIANAPOLIS – For most people, housing is the most expensive portion of our budget. Over the years it has gotten more expensive in the state of Indiana. For people that are considered low income, it is even worse.
"As of this year there are only 34 affordable and available rental units for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state,” Andrew Bradley with Prosperity Indiana said. “That's actually lower than the national average and it's the second lowest rate in the Midwest. "
For renters like Amber Hopkins, she knows all to well the struggle of finding affordable housing. She moved into a three-bedroom, one bath home with her kids in October of 2023.
Since then, the ceiling has holes in it, there was garbage in the backyard and she has multiple leaks that she says her landlord has yet to fix.
"It's not fair that I have go to pay $1250 a month but I have got to go buy gallons of water for us to warm up in the microwave for us to wash up with,” Hopkins said. "I have got to pay $1250 a month but have got to keep going down to the fuse box to hit the fuse and sometimes it still doesn't even work. We can hit every fuse in the house and stuff still won't come back on."
According to a report by Prosperity Indiana. in 2023, the Indianapolis area average rent is $1,065 dollars for a basic two bedroom apartment. That means to afford that price, people would have to make $20.48 per hour to afford it. That same report says the average wage for a renter is about $17.86.
For renters like Hopkins, even making enough to qualify to rent is difficult because high wage jobs are hard to find.
"I work two jobs,” Hopkins said. “Even with the two jobs I barely even still made it with three times the rent."
She isn't alone. Konswella Walker is also having a difficult time renting anywhere that is affordable.
Walker runs her own business, drives lift and is single mom that receives no child support. She is in the process of trying to find a new place for herself and her child, which is proving to be difficult. She says people are either ready for a mortgage of they are struggling to make ends meet due to how high prices are.
"A two-bedroom, two bath that I find acceptable, as in not in the hood, is ranging between $1,400-$1,800 right now,” Walker said.
That's why Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition sent a letter to the governor. They say if Indiana wants to grow and keep people moving here, something must change.
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“The housing stock isn’t what it used to be,” Bradley said. “It’s not enough to keep up with demand. If we want to grow, if we want people to age in place, if we want new families to be able to stay in those small town and rural areas, we have to modernize our housing stock.”
We reached out to Governor Holcomb’s office for comment on the letter. His press secretary said they weren't sure if the governor had received the information yet. To read the letter click here.
