By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 18, 2025
Just as a new report is highlighting that two-thirds of Indiana’s largest occupations are paying less than what workers need to cover rent, Gov. Mike Braun has indicated he sees housing as key to the state’s economic health.
Braun spoke with reporters on Thursday at Huntington University following the ceremonial signing of Senate Enrolled Act 306, which allows taxpayers to transfer film and media production tax credits. The Republican governor was asked about the recent call by housing advocates to create a commission to examine and propose solutions to address the state’s housing affordability crisis.
“Housing has been a chronic issue,” Braun said. “We’re not going to get economic development if we don’t have enough housing as we build the workforce.”
The “Out of Reach – Indiana 2025” report, published by Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, found Hoosier workers need to earn $22.18 per hour to afford a “modest two-bedroom apartment” at the fair market rental rate of $1,153 per month in Indiana. That “housing wage” enables renters to spend no more than 30% of their household income on housing and utilities and avoid having to make the difficult choices to forego basic needs like food and medical care in order to afford a place to live, according to the report.
However in Indiana, the current average renter wage is $18.05 an hour, which, as the report notes, is $4.13 less than the state’s housing wage for an apartment with two bedrooms. The disparity between paychecks and rent is especially acute since the state’s median renter household income of $43,672 is the lowest in the Midwest, but its housing costs are “typical for the region.”
Moreover, the report found that 76% of Hoosiers working in the top 20 occupations in Indiana – 810,610 employees – are making a median hourly wage that is less than the wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment. These workers include waiters and waitresses, nursing assistants, child-care workers, stockers and order fillers, and customer service representatives.
That gap appears to be getting wider. According to the report, 14 of Indiana’s “top 20 most common occupations” pay median wages below the state’s 2025 housing wage. This is an increase from nine occupations in 2022.
The state’s affordability crisis is even worse for workers making the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The report noted that Hoosiers working at minimum wage must have 3.1 full-time jobs, the equivalent of working 122 hours per week, to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
Andrew Bradley, senior director of policy and strategy for Prosperity Indiana, said the report underscores the need for federal, state and local policymakers to be “laser-focused” on making housing more affordable across Indiana. Also, he renewed the call for Braun to convene a housing commission to help address these issues.
“Given Indiana’s growing housing crisis, Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition strongly urge Gov. Braun to use his leadership and entrepreneurial know-how to create and convene a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability, and Affordability, and by doing so, cement himself as Indiana’s first Housing Governor,” Bradley told The Indiana Citizen. “While there are resources available to increase the supply and affordability of housing in Indiana, they are currently scattered through public agencies and segments of the private sector that don’t often coordinate. Only a governor has the bully pulpit and convening power to bring together the right stakeholders to align existing resources, eliminate barriers, and drive the improved housing outcomes that Hoosiers and their communities need to thrive.”
The idea for the governor to appoint a housing commission was first presented to Braun’s predecessor, Gov. Eric Holcomb. Although Holcomb did not assemble such a group, housing advocates have not given up on their proposal. They are trying to convince Braun to take action.
In June, Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition delivered a letter to the current governor urging him to create a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability and Affordability to address the state’s “shortage of safe, healthy, and affordable homes accessible to the most vulnerable Hoosiers.” The letter was signed by 665 organizations and individuals, including housing providers and developers, homeless prevention specialists, community service agencies and faith-based groups, from around Indiana.
Asked on Thursday about the advocates’ call for a housing commission, Braun did not dismiss the idea.
“I will always seek advice, whether it’s through a commission or just gathering the input like I’ve done in government and in the business world,” Braun said. “That’s what makes you successful.”
In the letter, the organizations and individuals said a commission was needed because the “incremental steps” taken by policymakers have not been enough to address the state’s housing affordability crisis. A commission, they said, could foster cooperation between government agencies, courts and nonprofits to help bolster housing resources, clean up the “patchwork of codes for health and safety standards,” coordinate administrative and court rules, and recommend new legislation.
The letter did note the positive impact on Indiana’s housing supply through the funding of the Residential Housing Infrastructure Assistance Program (RIF) and the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI).
However, the advocates said, Indiana still has a housing crisis. For every 100 “extreme low-income Hoosier households,” the state only has 38 affordable rental homes available, the second-lowest rate in the Midwest. Also, the advocates said, 74% of these households spend more than half of their income on housing expenses, the highest rate in the Midwest.
Lauren Murfree, policy analyst for the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, said the lack of affordable housing is detrimental to Hoosiers’ economic viability. Without stable housing, she said, working Hoosiers are having trouble obtaining and retaining employment.
“If our goal is to provide an economically stable and sustainable state, housing solutions are key, and the creation of a housing commission would provide the governor with the ability to gather experts together to help ground solutions in evidenced-based approaches,” Murfree said. “We are excited that the governor has recently expressed openness and willingness to engage with the topic of housing and look forward to outreach and engagement from his staff on this topic so that we can work together toward addressing our housing crisis.”
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
