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  • Out of Reach 2026

    Out of Reach 2026

    When hard-working Minnesotans are struggling to keep up with rising housing costs in our community, you know there’s a problem. Today, many Minnesotans know all too well the struggle of paying more than they can afford for housing. Out of Reach is released annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and provides rental affordability data for every state, metro area, and county in the US. You can read the full 2026 report now.

    MHP’s Minnesota Snapshot of the 2026 Out of Reach report highlights state and county trends that reveal that households in every corner of Minnesota are spending thousands of dollars more than they can afford each year just to pay the rent for a modest apartment.

    Some Minnesota highlights from the 2026 report include:

    • The Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is $1,504. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn more than $60,159 annually. 
    • Minnesota ranks #27 in the nation for the highest wages required to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The hourly wage required to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is the most expensive in the Upper Midwest, including $4.16 higher than the Wisconsin housing wage, $7.60 higher than Iowa’s, $7.89 higher than South Dakota’s, and $8.00 higher than North Dakota’s.  

    Hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment 

    • To afford rent without paying more than 30% of their income on housing, Minnesotans would need to earn $60,159 to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. However, the average Minnesota worker earns an estimated $21.51 per hour, or the equivalent of $44,740 annually. 
    • Compared to the state housing wage of $28.92, non-metro area workers would need to earn $19.86 hourly to afford a two-bedroom apartment, or the equivalent of earning $41,318 annually. 
    • The Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area has the highest housing wage in the state, with a worker needing to earn $32.87 per hour — or earning an annual salary of $68,370 — to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in the region. 

    Rent affordable to median-income renter 

    • Median-income renters in Carver County can afford the highest rent in the state at $1,807 per month. 
    • Median-income renters in Traverse County can only afford $539 per month, the lowest amount in the state. 
    • In contrast to a median-income renter being able to afford $1,370 at the statewide level, the median-income renter household in non-metro Minnesota can afford far less — at $1,035 per month. 

    Hours at minimum wage to afford 1 bedroom apartment: 

    • Minimum wage workers in Minnesota must work 83 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment and 101 hours per week for a modest two-bedroom. This is the equivalent of working 2.1 or 2.5 full time jobs to afford a one and two-bedroom apartment, respectively. 
    • Workers earning minimum wage in Minnesota must work at least 50 hours per week in every county in the state to be able to afford rent for a one-bedroom apartment. Statewide, a one-bedroom apartment costs $614 more per month, or $7,368 annually, than a full-time minimum wage earner can afford. 
    • In non-metro areas, minimum wage workers must work 55 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and 70 hours for a two-bedroom apartment. 
    • In the 7-County Metro*, minimum wage workers must work 95 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and 115 hours for a two-bedroom apartment. 

    *Excluding Minneapolis and Saint Paul 

    Many of the most in demand jobs earn less than the housing wage, including critically needed healthcare jobs:

    • Home health and personal care aides, Minnesota’s most in-demand occupation, do not earn enough to afford a one-bedroom at fair market rent. The median hourly wage for over 128,000 people working in this field falls short by $10,380 annually to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment. 
    • Seven of the top ten in demand jobs in Minnesota do not pay enough to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and eight of the top ten occupations do not pay enough to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. 

    Out of Reach data is available for every county and metro area in the country. Click here to see how Minnesota counties compare to each other.

    Brian Muhs

  • Rural Community Land Trusts: Getting it Started and Getting it Done

    Rural Community Land Trusts: Getting it Started and Getting it Done

    Community Land Trusts (CLTs) have become an increasingly important tool for preserving affordable homeownership and ensuring stable, high-quality housing opportunities across the United States. While more and more CLTs are being created nationwide, rural communities continue to face distinct challenges, including limited housing and funding opportunities.

    This publication highlights the work of real CLTs who are strengthening housing solutions across rural America. Through conversations with ten rural organizations, we explore how these communities established their CLTs, navigated obstacles, and developed creative strategies to sustain and grow their impact. Their experiences reveal both the challenges and successes of running the CLT model in rural settings, offering valuable insights for leaders, policymakers, and community members alike. By learning from the experiences of these organizations, we can better understand the opportunities, barriers, and creative solutions shaping the future of affordable homeownership in rural communities. We hope these organizations inspire you as much as they did us. 

    Read the Report!

    Brian Muhs

  • Relational Strategic Planning Toolkit

    Relational Strategic Planning Toolkit

    Strategic plans help nonprofits and community organizations set direction and align around shared priorities. But too often, once the retreat ends and the binder is printed, the plan sits on a shelf.

    MHP’s Relational Strategic Planning Toolkit — offers an approach that builds on tried and tested planning models while strengthening the relationships, clarity, and coordination needed to turn ideas into action. The publication provides practical tools to help ensure the readers next strategic plan becomes a living guide, not just a finished document gathering dust.

    Download MHP’s Relational Strategic Planning Toolkit

    Brian Muhs

  • The Gap Report 2026 Finds Shortage of Homes for Lowest-Income Renters

    The Gap Report 2026 Finds Shortage of Homes for Lowest-Income Renters

    Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. But a new national report released today highlights a persistent challenge for Minnesota: there are still far too few homes affordable to the state’s lowest-income renters. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual The Gap report shows that while housing shortages affect communities across the country, the impacts are most severe for households with the lowest incomes.

    In Minnesota, there are only 41 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renters, leaving a shortage of approximately 97,500 homes.

    Key Findings for Minnesota include:

    • 166,500 extremely low-income renter households live in Minnesota, an increase of 700 households since last year.
    • Minnesota still needs 97,500 additional homes affordable to extremely low-income renters, though the shortage has declined by 3,700 homes compared to last year.
    • Minnesota has 41 affordable and available homes per 100 extremely low-income renters, compared to 35 per 100 nationwide.
    • 83% of extremely low-income renter households are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
    • 70% are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities.

    When housing costs consume such a large share of income, households are often forced to sacrifice other basic needs like food, medicine, and healthcare.

    Extremely low-income renters include seniors living on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, caregivers, and workers in low-wage jobs — Minnesotans who are essential to strong communities and local economies.

    “The Gap report makes clear that households with the lowest incomes face the greatest barriers to stable housing in Minnesota,” said Anne Mavity, Executive Director of MHP. “When there simply aren’t enough homes affordable to them, families are forced to stretch beyond what they can afford or compete for a shrinking number of options.”

    National context

    Nationwide, the report finds a shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available rental homes for 11 million extremely low-income renter households, with just 35 affordable and available homes for every 100 renters in this income group.

    No state has enough homes affordable to meet the needs of its lowest-income renters.

    Addressing the shortage

    Addressing this shortage will require sustained investment in deeply affordable homes, stronger housing stability programs that prevent homelessness, and policies that make it easier for communities across Minnesota to create and preserve housing opportunities.

    Download The Gap

    View the Minnesota Profile here.

    Jenny Jones

  • From Data to Decisions: A Practical Guide to Community-Driven Housing Needs Assessments

    From Data to Decisions: A Practical Guide to Community-Driven Housing Needs Assessments

    Every community is stronger when people have a stable, accessible place to call home. Housing is the foundation for good jobs, strong schools, thriving local businesses, and healthy families. When people can afford to stay rooted in their communities, everyone benefits.  

    This publication is MHP’s practical guidance for understanding local housing conditions in a way that builds internal capacity and supports community-driven decision-making. This guide was developed to help address that gap. 

    This guide reflects commonly used practices in housing and community development planning, drawing from federal and state housing guidance, practitioner experience, and Minnesota Housing Partnership’s (MHP) technical assistance work with communities across diverse geographies. Rather than reproducing any single methodology or template, the guide synthesizes widely accepted concepts and adapts them into a modular, practitioner-focused framework designed to support local decision-making, capacity-building, and practical application. 

    Download the guide and accompanying tools:

    Brian Muhs

  • Housing Trends & Takeaways: A Multiyear Look at Minnesota

    Housing Trends & Takeaways: A Multiyear Look at Minnesota

    Housing is more than just a place to live—it’s the foundation for thriving communities. Yet, MHP’s latest report: Housing Trends & Takeaways: A Multiyear Look at Minnesota report shows that too many Minnesotans are struggling to find a home they can afford. As eviction filings rise, homeownership remains out of reach for many, and rural communities risk losing critical rental housing, the need for action has never been greater.

    Key findings include:

    • More low-income renters are struggling with housing costs.
    • Eviction filings in Minnesota remain above pre-pandemic levels.
    • The state faces a shortfall of nearly 100,000 homes, despite recent gains.
    • Rural rental homes are losing affordability protections at an alarming rate, and thousands face demolition, sale or rent hikes.
    • Homeownership disparities persist.
    • Homeowners insurance costs are among the highest in the U.S., with premiums soaring 39% since 2017.

    Yet, the story of housing in Minnesota isn’t just about the challenges—it’s about our collective ability to create solutions. As MHP’s Executive Director, Anne Mavity, reminds us:

    “The solutions to our housing challenges are within reach. By working together, we can ensure that everyone—no matter their income or background—has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.”

    Download Housing Trends & Takeaways

    Jenny Jones

  • 2023 Report: The USDA Section 515 Program and the Challenge of Preserving Affordable Housing in Greater Minnesota

    2023 Report: The USDA Section 515 Program and the Challenge of Preserving Affordable Housing in Greater Minnesota

    This research effort was a multi-year collaboration between the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), Housing Justice Center, and Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP). The CURA-funded research was lead by Ryan Allen with support by CURA Community-Based Research. For MHP, this 2023 report illustrates the intersection and cross-collaboration between the organization’s three program areas: our research, policy, and community development departments. 

    Section 515 = Rural Rental Affordability; For very low, low, and moderate-income households; includes rent restriction; comes with low interest rate loan; and 30 year loans are amortized to 50 years
    Report Graphics by Kia Lee (Graphic Designer), USDA 515 Report, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs 2023

    Go to the USDA Section 515 Report

    “From MHP’s community development work in rural communities, we know many rural residents need deeply affordable rental housing, and USDA 515 rental housing are often the only affordable options in many communities. Preserving these USDA 515 properties is critical both for their rental assistance and to update these aging properties, before it is too late.”

    Jill Henricksen, Community Development Manager, MHP
    27% of rural or small-town households pay more than 30% of their income on housing.

    Like urban areas in the U.S., rural areas currently face a housing affordability crisis. Approximately 6.9 million (27%) of rural or small-town households are considered “cost-burdened” (paying more than 30% of their monthly income on housing costs). Since 1949, USDA’s Section 515 program has been an effective strategy for creating affordable rents in rural areas of the U.S. The program provides low interest loans for building multifamily rental housing, restricting the amount of rent that can be charged to tenants. Section 515 rental housing is frequently coupled with Section 521 Rental Assistance, ensuring these homes are affordable to rural residents with extremely low incomes.

    In 48 of 80 MN Counties, Section 515 accounts for more than 20% of total subsidized housing.

    In 2020, Section 515 properties accounted for almost 19% of the nearly 50,000 subsidized units located in greater MN. They also accounted for more than 20% of subsidized housing in the majority of MN counties.

    Section 515 properties are required to maintain affordability restrictions for the life of the loan (50 years), but properties lose affordability when their mortgages mature. In MN, the peak of mortgage maturations will occur in 2030. As properties in the Section 515 program mature out of the program in the next 10 to 30 years, the Midwest stands to lose thousands of affordable rural rental homes. With no clear contingency plan for maintaining affordability in these properties, many of the properties may exit the program, reducing the number of affordable housing units in rural areas where the stock of affordable housing is already scarce. 

    The report provides a background to the Section 515 program, insights from Section 515 stakeholders, and a set of recommendations for policymakers to ensure the program’s viability in the coming years.

    In MN, 2,125 units may leave the section 515 program by 2030 - or 22% of MN Section 515 units as of 2020

    “People perceive that access to affordable housing is only a problem in urban areas, but in reality the scarcity of affordable housing is reaching a crisis point in rural areas as well. As we show in this research, in many cases Section 515 makes up a substantial proportion of the subsidized housing. In some rural communities, it is the only supply of subsidized housing. Ensuring the continued vitality of rural communities will likely mean creating a plan for how to keep these housing units affordable.”

    Dr. Ryan Allen, Report Author, Director, the Urban and Regional Planning program, and associate dean for research at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs

    Major Findings Include:

    • The Midwest will see large proportions of its Section 515 properties mature out of the program earlier than the U.S. overall. The peak of mortgage maturations for Section 515 properties in the Midwest will occur in 2030, about 10 years before the peak in mortgage maturations occurs for Section 515 properties in the U.S. In Minnesota, we estimate that 2,125 Section 515 units will mature and potentially leave the program by 2030.
    More than 40% of Midwest Section 515 Projects are designated for seniors, compared to 33% of Section 515 projects in the US.
    • The unique characteristics of Section 515 properties in the Midwest suggest that some policy responses may need to be tailored to fit the unique needs of the program there.
      • The average size of a Section 515 property is smaller in the Midwest than in the U.S. This smaller scale suggests that owners may have less capacity to absorb costs related to capital maintenance and complex real estate transactions compared to owners of larger properties.
      • Midwest Section 515 properties are more likely to be used by seniors than in other states. Thus, some of rural Minnesota’s most vulnerable households are at risk of substantial rent increases and potential dislocation.
      • Nearly 40% of Midwest Section 515 properties are owned by nonprofit organizations, about double the proportion of in the U.S. Nonprofit organizations active in rural areas are often small and less able to manage large amounts of financial risk or complicated tasks associated with raising capital and navigating government programs.
    • Changes in the housing market in many rural counties and in the Section 515 program itself have made it less attractive to private owners and investors. On the other hand, mission-driven owners have maintained a strong interest in the 515 program as one of the few affordable housing resources available to rural communities.

    This is a solvable problem, and now is the time to act.

    Report recommendations include:

    • Create unique funding support for small scale Section 515 properties, including supporting needed capital maintenance.
    •  Streamline the property transfer process, from owners who want to exit the program to buyers willing to maintain long-term affordability, by making it easier, faster and less risky for preservation buyers to acquire Section 515 properties, especially for small sized properties.
    • Prioritize preservation of properties based on locations in hot and cold housing markets and those with looming mortgage maturations.

    “For far too long, the USDA 515 program has been the most important housing resources for rural communities that nobody is talking about. Now these critical sources of safe, stable, and affordable housing are at risk of disappearing forever. As this report shows, the time for action is now if we want to prevent displacement of low income renters and to save these irreplaceable resources in rural communities. The good news is that there are practical solutions to ensure that rural Minnesota communities can remain great places for people to call home.”

    Margaret Kaplan, Executive Director, Housing Justice Center

    Materials:

    Executive Summary

    Story Map – with interactive maps showing impacts over time by county

    Full Report, Qualitative Analysis

    Full Report, Quantitative Analysis

    Report Maps

    Jenny Jones

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  • 515 Properties: Preserving affordable rental housing in rural communities

    515 Properties: Preserving affordable rental housing in rural communities

    This report describes important affordable rural rental properties across Minnesota and the people who live there. These are rental units that have been financed under the USDA’s Section 515 program. As federal investments in the 515 program have been insufficient and declining for many years, many 515 properties are in declining condition. Part of the effort to save these properties is to quantify and describe these properties and who lives in them. MHP, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, analyzed the most recently available data. A more full summary of the report is found here. (January 2021)

    Jenny Jones

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  • Rural Rental Housing: Report and Recommendations

    Rural Rental Housing: Report and Recommendations

    (April 2020)This report identifies challenges to preservation of rural rental housing and solutions developed by community members that live and work in Greater Minnesota. The report highlights needs and solutions for USDA Rural Development 515 properties. A cover letter, here, connects report recommendations to COVID-19 housing stability needs.

    Jenny Jones

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