With a steadily growing number of working Hoosier families unable to make ends meet, it’s past time for Indiana’s elected officials (and those wanting to become elected officials) to bridge the gaps created by short-sighted policy choices and costs that continue to increase faster than incomes.
Headlines about $5/gallon gas and housing that is out of reach call out critically real challenges to Hoosier family budgets. But Indiana’s affordability crisis isn’t just about current prices; it’s about stagnant Hoosier incomes that are being left behind by those of our neighbors.
Indiana’s per capita personal income of $66,292 is 41st in the U.S. and dead last in the Midwest. While poverty has remained relatively flat in Indiana since 2010, the number of ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Hoosiers unable to afford basic expenses has increased by 14%, with nearly four in 10 households in ALICE status. So, while the proportion of ‘poor’ Hoosiers has stayed about the same over the past decade and a half, the number of Hoosiers in hardship keeps climbing.
Housing is a prime example of how rising basic costs push Hoosiers out of economic stability, even for those making average incomes. In 2025, 14 of Indiana’s top 20 largest occupations did not pay enough to meet the state’s “housing wage” needed to rent a modest two-bedroom home. That number of occupations that don’t pay enough for rent is up from 9 of the top 20 in 2022.
The housing wage has increased by $6,614 annually, from $19/hour in 2023 to $22.18 in 2025. However, the average renter’s full-time hourly wage over that period increased only $395 annually, from $17.86 in 2023 to $18.05 in 2025. This means that the average Hoosier renter household has had to find a way to make up for a $6,219 hole, often done by skipping medical care, cutting back on food, or shelving plans to complete a degree. In addition, Indiana is now tied for the lowest rate of affordable homes in the Midwest for extremely low income renter households, with a gap of over 137,000 available homes.
Housing is also a case where the lack of action by elected officials has compounded the hardship for Hoosiers. With skyrocketing housing costs, too many Hoosiers are pushed into housing instability, eviction, and homelessness.
Unfortunately, not only did the General Assembly eliminate state funding for proven homeless services in the 2025-26 budget, this February the House and Senate narrowly passed Senate Enrolled Act 285 which will add criminal charges for sleeping in public, without adding any new housing or services.
And unlike Midwest neighbors like Michigan and Minnesota where governors have approved a comprehensive housing strategy, Gov. Mike Braun has not yet responded to calls from 700+ Hoosiers urging him to create a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability, and Affordability. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Midwest states with more robust housing investments also see significantly higher take-home pay for their residents than Indiana.
Hoosiers can no longer afford to wait for candidates and elected officials to come around on their own to the needs of families in hardship. The period after primary elections is a perfect time to reach out, share district-level info on Indiana’s housing crisis, and make sure your network is registered to vote in the general election. Prosperity Indiana is partnering with nonpartisan groups like Our Homes, Our Votes and NonProfitVOTE to bring these resources to community partners.
Addressing the needs of Hoosiers in hardship and ensuring housing and economic opportunity for all will require elected officials to listen to, and act for, Hoosiers and the organizations who work directly with them. Budgets reflect priorities, and the 2027 state budget session is a critical opportunity to correct harmful cuts and invest in priorities that will increase the quality of life across Indiana’s communities.
It will take all of us to advocate for a state that invests in its people, and it will take support from the nonprofit, private, and philanthropic sectors to provide the resources necessary to bring Hoosiers together to advocate.