INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana has released a report outlining the growing challenges renters face in trying to secure affordable housing.
Finding from the report, State of Fair Housing Report – Rising Rental Burdens in the Indianapolis Metro:
- Half of all renters in Marion County are cost-burdened, meaning they spend 30% or more of their monthly income on rent and utilities.
- A quarter of renters spend 50% or more of their income on housing.
- Among households headed by older people, or people with disabilities, over 60% are rent-burdened, and nearly 40% are severely cost-burdened.
- Additionally, the standard definition of housing cost burden — spending 30% or more of income on housing costs — is too narrow and does not account for additional factors that renters face.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology spearheads a Living Wage Calculator that show, in Marion County, a single parent with two children would have to make $100,849 a year, with only 8.5% spent on housing, to afford other basic expenses including child care, food, medical costs, and transportation.
Comparatively, in 2025, the average asking rent for a market-rate apartment in the Indianapolis metro area was $1,339, up from $899 in 2015, a near 50% increase…