CONCORD – Full-time workers need to earn $35.08 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent in New Hampshire. This is New Hampshire’s “2025 Housing Wage” according to Out of Reach, a report published jointly today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action New Hampshire. The report’s release comes after the conclusion of New Hampshire’s state legislative session, which ended with progress on regulatory reform but a disappointing lack of investment to shore up financial tools and programs to support affordable housing. 

“Housing Action NH is working hard to ensure every Granite Stater has a place to call home, but the Out of Reach report illustrates the challenge we have ahead of us and the negative impact our housing crisis has on our state’s workforce and economy. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Housing Wage in New Hampshire is $35.08 – that means low-wage workers would need to work 3 or 4 full-time jobs to afford a two-bedroom apartment. This is simply unsustainable. While the state legislature continues to make progress, there is much more to be done, and we must protect the critical HUD programs currently under attack,” said Nick Taylor, Director of Housing Action NH.

Out of Reach, released annually, documents the gulf between wages and what people need to earn to afford their rents. This report routinely shows that affordable rental homes remain out of reach for millions of low-wage workers and their families. The report’s “Housing Wage” is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rent without spending more than 30% of their incomes. In 2025, the national Housing Wage is $33.63 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $28.17 for a modest one-bedroom rental home. 

Significant disparities between what renters earn and their housing costs leave their housing security especially precarious during periods of economic uncertainty. Out of Reach 2025 sheds light on how recent economic downturns have led to long-term increases in the prevalence of housing cost burdens among the lowest-income renters. Housing cost burdens prevent low-income renters from affording other basic necessities and also keep them at constant risk of housing instability. 

“Housing is more than just a shelter; it is foundational to well-being and dignity,” said NLIHC President and CEO Renee Willis. “This year’s Out of Reach report shows that, despite economic gains for some, low-income renters continue to face impossible choices between paying rent and meeting basic needs. Cutting federal housing investments would only deepen the crisis. Congress must protect and expand housing programs that ensure stability, opportunity, and a pathway out of poverty for millions of renters.”

Background:

  • Facts about New Hampshire:
      • Minimum Wage: $7.25
      • Average Renter Wage: $20.92
      • 2-Bedroom Housing Wage: $35.08
      • Number of Renter Households: 151,523
      • Percent Renters: 27%
  • In New Hampshire, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,824. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities – without paying more than 30% of income on housing – a household must earn $6,081 monthly or $72,971 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into an hourly Housing Wage of $35.08. 
  • Granite Staters would need to work 194 hours per week at minimum wage to afford a 2-bedroom rental home. 
    • Federal Budget: Despite urgent housing affordability challenges and economic uncertainty, the future of federal housing assistance is at risk. Current federal budget proposals threaten significant cuts to housing assistance programs and the loss of thousands of housing vouchers. The president’s budget request for FY 2026 proposes a devastating cut to HUD’s overall funding, which would eliminate rental assistance programs, consolidate five key programs into a single, restrictive State Rental Assistance Block Grant, and impose a two-year time limit on assistance. The Trump Administration is also expected to pursue harmful regulations that would make it more difficult for families to obtain and maintain HUD assistance, including burdensome work reporting requirements. 
  • New Hampshire Legislative Efforts:
  • Housing Reform Bills Signed Into Law on July 15:
  • HB 296 – relative to issuing building permits along private roads.
  • HB 413 – relative to subdivision regulations on the completion of improvements and the regulation of building permits.
  • HB 457 – relative to zoning restrictions on dwelling units.
  • HB 577 – relative to modifying the definition of ADUs.
  • HB 631 – permitting residential building in commercial zoning.
  • SB 110 – relative to terrain permitting.
  • SB 188 – relative to the state building code.
  • SB 281 – prohibiting municipalities from denying building or occupancy permits for property adjacent to class VI roads under certain circumstances.
  • SB 282 – relative to stairway requirements in certain residential buildings.
  • SB 284 – relative to authority for municipalities to regulate mandatory on-site parking requirements.
  • Housing Related State Budget Provisions: The FY 26-27 state budget represents more than a $40 million step back in general fund investment from the FY 24-25 state budget. In the FY 24-25 budget, the State Legislature and Governor approved $35 million to the Affordable Housing Fund, $10 million to the InvestNH program, and $5.25 million to the Housing Champions Program – in addition to the $100 million in federal ARAP and SRSF funds. Combined, these investments have led to almost 6,000 new housing units, the demolition of costly dilapidated structures, and technical assistance to over 100 communities seeking to update regulatory ordinances. This budget only includes $5 million per year in statutorily required funds to the Affordable Housing Fund. Furthermore, this budget eliminates the funding for the Regional Planning Commissions and defunds one of the three board member positions with the Housing Appeals Board.

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Housing Action NH works to improve state and federal policy so everyone in New Hampshire has a place to call home.