Rising rent costs and soaring inflation are resulting in a growing number of Americans who have jobs but still don’t have homes.
The Washington Post Local shelters and volunteer groups have found an increasing number of people with stable jobs becoming homeless, and one Tulsa organization reported that a lack of affordable housing is the No. 1 reason so many people are becoming homeless.
“Years of skyrocketing rents and a shortage of affordable housing have created a situation where even strong labor markets and rising wages are not enough to offset the financial strain of inflation,” the article states.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an estimated 653,104 people experienced homelessness on one night in 2023. That’s a 12% increase from 2022 and the highest number of homeless people since the U.S. began annual point-in-time surveys in 2007.
Homelessness is expected to increase by 12% in 2023, and is currently at record levels. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Portland metro area homeless spending spikes to ‘shocking’ amount
People who spoke to The Post described living with friends in their cars, in hotels or out of homeless shelters, and several admitted to sleeping in parks.
“Many who spoke to The Washington Post said they found themselves in desperate situations, earning too much to qualify for food stamps and other government assistance but not enough to secure housing,” the article read.
“All said they were trying hard to save enough to cover the first and last month’s rent, plus the security deposit required for many rental properties, but that everyday living costs were holding them back,” the report continued.
In light of the Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers may begin cracking down on homeless encampments. ((Tayhun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
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“I work 50 hours a week and it’s still really hard to keep up,” said Aaron Reed, a 22-year-old Amazon employee.
Despite earning $21 an hour, Reed, his mother and their dog sleep in his mother’s Hyundai SUV, and he said being homeless comes with extra expenses, such as buying bottled water because there is no running water.
“Every day it’s like, ‘What bills can I actually pay?'” Reed said. “I’m behind on my car payment, I have gas, insurance, my phone bill.”
of National Low Income Housing Coalition Despite the fact that most states have a minimum wage of $15 an hour, it has been reported that a wage of $20 an hour would barely be enough to buy a two-bedroom apartment in six states.
“I’m lucky to make $15 an hour, but the cost of living is so high that $15 an hour is barely enough to cover my rent and utilities,” said Marie, 28, a hotel and casino supervisor. “Everything is getting more expensive, so I can’t even save up enough to rent a place.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition concluded that $15 an hour is not enough to rent a two-bedroom apartment. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images | Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Homelessness continues to plague major cities across the U.S., and some Democratic lawmakers have signaled efforts to crack down on the problem by encouraging bans on homeless camps following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.
Fox News’ Stephanie Price contributed to this report.
