Kentucky’s Housing Crisis

As Kentuckians, we care for ourselves, provide for our families, and believe everyone deserves a safe and stable place to lay our heads down. 

The Problem

But now, Kentuckians are struggling more than ever to find and keep an affordable place to call home, despite working as hard as they can, because corporations and greedy investors are buying properties, driving up rent, and turning people away from housing just because they can.

Homes are for people, not investment portfolios and corporate profit. Our people are facing evictions, homelessness, displacement, and across the board it is nearly impossible for working families to keep a roof over their heads.

The Solution

We need policies that put Kentuckians first and cracks down on predatory and discriminatory housing practices that only benefit the rich and powerful. It’s time for housing that puts people over profit. 

Key Facts

Kentucky suffers a shortage of over 200,000 homes, and the vast majority of that gap is affordable housing. 

Kentucky’s minimum wage has remained stagnant at $7.25 per hour since 2009, while the average wage needed to affordably rent a 2 bedroom home is $17.90 per hour. Using this “housing wage,” a Kentucky resident would have to work 99 hours per week at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom rental.

A growing number of Kentuckians pay more than 30% of their wage on housing, with homeownership rates steadily decreasing

Across Kentucky, about 4,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, and our state is now criminalizing homelessness–putting people in jail simply for having no other place to go. This means that evictions, displacement, and the lack of affordable housing options in our state are more of a threat to Kentucky families than ever before.