The US affordable housing gap has deepened over the decades, and recent trends have further intensified the crisis for many Americans. As inflation has risen in recent years, a limited housing supply has kept home prices and rents high. While the crisis is a national issue, the cost burden is relatively more significant for Black Americans, particularly in urban areas.
McKinsey’s JP Julien, Shelley Stewart III, and coauthors write, “Twenty-five percent of the housing gap, about two million units, is found in megacities. This reality disproportionately affects the nearly one-third of Black Americans who live in these communities.”
On this national holiday honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., learn more about the ideas that could advance equity and upward mobility by exploring our interactive map of the US housing crisis, five solutions that could unlock 700,000 housing units for Black households, and more.
Mapping the US affordable housing crisis and unlocking opportunities for economic mobility
Investing in housing: Unlocking economic mobility for Black families and all Americans
Confronting the affordable-housing crisis
Location, location, location: The impact of place on racial equity
The state of Black residents: The relevance of place to racial equity and outcomes