Affordable homes available for rent in Rhode Island are getting fewer and farther between, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLICH).
“The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes,” released annually by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, counted 46,341 extremely low-income households in Rhode Island, but only 21,662 affordable rental homes available to them. That means Rhode Island has just 47 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 households with extremely low incomes.
Rhode Island is at least doing better than the national average of 35 affordable rental homes available for every 100 people. But the availability of affordable rentals dropped dramatically: The state had 74 affordable rentals for every 100 people in the 2023 report.
“The annual Gap report continues to demonstrate what we’re seeing across the state: that we are still behind in meeting the housing needs of the lowest-income Rhode Islanders,” Melina Lodge, executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island, said in a statement.
Connecticut was the only New England state to be below the national average with just 33 affordable rentals available for every 100 people. Rhode Island tied with Maine and Vermont, which also had 47, while Massachusetts had 44, and New Hampshire had 39.
Low-income renters are defined as those making less than 30% of the area median income and are often employed at minimum wage or are older adults, have a disability or are single adult caregivers.
A household earning the state’s median renter household income of $45,560 could afford to rent in only one Rhode Island town — Burrillville — in 2023, according to the 2024 HousingWorksRI Factbook.
In Rhode Island, 64% of extremely low-income renters spend more than half of their income on housing, leaving little for necessities like food and health care, the report found. A person making the state minimum wage of $14 an hour would have to work 78 hours per week to afford a fair market one-bedroom apartment, according to 2024 data from the NLICH. The state increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour as of Jan. 1, 2025.
With more so many renters barely affording to keep pace with their payments, it’s no surprise that the state’s unhoused population continues to rise, said Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness Executive Director Kimberly Simmons
At least 2,442 unhoused people across Rhode Island were counted when volunteers conducted an annual survey in late January 2024 — up 35% from the 2023 count. The coalition conducted its annual Point-In-Time count for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 28, but results aren’t expected to be released until some time in the summer.
“All Rhode Islanders will need to work to support the funding and development of resources needed to address the growing crisis,” Simmons said in a statement.
Advocates want state leaders to expand the state’s housing stock. The NLICH report calls on lawmakers to subsidize the rental market.
Rhode Island’s government has made some strides in trying to encourage new home construction, including a proposed package of a dozen bills from the state’s House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi this year.
Shekarchi did not immediately respond to comment on the report.
Six of the bills from this year’s housing package received their initial hearing before the House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing on Tuesday, where they were held for further study, as is standard procedure when legislation is first considered.
The report was released the same week Johnston Town Council voted to take legal action to seize 31 acres of undeveloped land by eminent domain, blocking a proposed 252-unit apartment complex for low- to moderate-income renters. The owner of the land filed suit against the town in federal court, claiming the town was abusing its power to strip them of their rights.
This article was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
