Affordable, accessible housing is getting harder to find in Ohio; and the "affordable" part is getting a little harder to define. There are nearly 1.6 million renter households in Ohio, with the average renter earning $19.59 an hour. Wages are slouching along, while the Housing Wage has increased by 169% over the past six years. Costs are going up, wages are not keeping up, and there is a shortage of approximately 266,000 available, affordable rental units in the state, according to the 2026 Gap Report. We have the resources to invest in expanding housing solutions that provide stable homes for the lowest-income people in our country.