Cost of Home

Cost of Home is a five-year advocacy campaign through which local Habitat organizations, partners, volunteers, and community members across the country are working together so that 10 million people have access to an affordable home.

Cost of Home has already helped more than 1.5 million people access decent housing through our advocacy to influence policies at the local, state, and federal level. But we haven’t reached our goal — yet. That’s why we need you to join us. 

Families all across the United States are paying too high a price to cover the cost of home.

Everywhere you look — cities, suburbs, rural areas — the stability that home should bring remains out of reach for far too many families.

At Habitat for Humanity, we know that a family should never have to spend more than 30% of their income on a home. But consider that even before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 18 million U.S. households were paying half or more of their income on a place to live. Now, as the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold, the number of families struggling to make ends meet is only growing.

That is unacceptable.

We know the complexities that surround the cost of home. We also know the struggle, stress, and pain of far too many families in our communities. Families who have suffered from redlining, racial inequality, and the housing disparities that follow. Families who have worked hard and still come up short, not because of their own efforts but because of systemic issues and an inequitable economy. And we know that those with the fewest resources are always the ones who are forced to make the hardest choices.

Everyone deserves to build the foundation for a stable, healthy future for themselves and their families — no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they earn.