New data shows a Michigan resident earning minimum wage would need to work 58 hours per week to afford a 1-bedroom apartment, highlighting the cost burden of housing.

The data which comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition's (NLIHC) latest report Out of Reach shows affordable housing is an issue nationwide as nearly every U.S. county “lacks an adequate supply of affordable and available homes for low-income renters.”

Michigan data:

• Our state ranks 29^th in the country for housing costs.

• The average wage of a renter in Michigan is $14.96 per hour.

• For perspective, a Michigan resident would need to earn $17.25 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in our state – that’s $8 more an hour than our state’s current minimum wage.

• A Michigan resident earning minimum wage would need to work 73 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

• Ann Arbor, Livingston County, the Detroit-Warren-Livonia region, Lansing and Grand Rapids are among the most expensive areas of the state when it comes to housing.

The need for affordable workforce housing is a major issue around the state and one that CMF members are working to address in the communities they serve.

The Pennies From Heaven Foundation, based in Ludington, shared there’s extra pressure on housing that’s affordable for lower to moderate income families in the local lakeshore community. The area only has a 1 percent vacancy rate for apartments.  

“We are working to foster relationships with housing developers to find the right developers and projects for our community,” Monica Schuyler, executive director, Pennies From Heaven Foundation said. “This relationship includes helping to identify potential sites, making connections with local municipalities and providing community data. We have done several mission investments or grants to help provide the gap funding that makes it possible to build affordable housing for low to moderate income families that the construction market struggles to support without subsidies.”

The foundation has also served as a community advocate educating leaders on the situation.

In Grand Haven and Holland work is also underway, led by the community foundations.

"The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation (GHACF) recognizes that the costs for a household to survive have increased over the last several years, while income levels have remained relatively flat," Hadley Streng, president, GHACF said. "As a result, we have invested significant grant dollars in Housing Next – a collaboration of community organizations. Housing Next and the GHACF continue to partner with individuals and organizations across sectors in our region to raise awareness of the shortage of workforce housing, to reexamine and refine policies and zoning ordinances that may be dated, and to invest in and unlock solutions to make workforce housing affordable so that people can live, work, and play in the same community."

Streng and Mike Goorhouse, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, co-chair the Housing Next Leadership Council.

In Flint, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is supporting the development of the Marketplace Apartments in downtown. The foundation recently shared a preview of the project on social media. The 92-unit apartment and townhouse development will provide affordable housing options and include retail space, a community area with a playground and green space. It’s currently under construction on the site of the former YWCA and expected to be completed by the end of the year.

In Kalamazoo, construction is currently underway on The Creamery, an investment of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. As the community foundation shares, The Creamery, which is located in the Edison neighborhood will provide apartments for people with low- and middle-income, a YWCA child care center and a small business accelerator.

As CMF reported earlier this year, Frey Foundation and Rotary Charities of Traverse City formed a new partnership to address the workforce housing shortage in Northwest Michigan. 

While work is underway around the state, on the national level the NLIHC is pushing for change on the federal level.

“Members of Congress are starting to take note: a number have introduced big, bold bills to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis,” Diane Yentel, president and CEO of NLIHC said. “The topic of affordable housing is also becoming increasingly prevalent on the 2020 presidential campaign trails. We now have a tremendous opportunity to implement federal housing policy solutions to fund affordable housing programs at the scale necessary.”

Want more?

Read the full report.