PROVIDENCE – A new study ranks Rhode Island's shortage of affordable rental housing less severe than other parts of the country. However, local advocates warn there is still much to do to better serve the state's most vulnerable renters.
On the surface, the numbers look good compared to rest of the country, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's
2025 Gap report released Thursday.
The Ocean State has 47 affordable and available rental homes per 100 extremely low-income renters and the Providence-Warwick metropolitan area has the third-least severe affordable home shortage in the country with 41 out of 100, behind only Boston and Pittsburgh, according to the report.
Across the country, Rhode Island also stacks up very well in terms of providing housing for the state's most vulnerable populations, many of which are seniors on fixed incomes, social security or disability benefits.
In California, there are only 24 such available rentals out of 100. Nevada has only 17 out of 100, and Oregon just 23 out of 100. In New England, Rhode Island is tied with Maine and Vermont. Connecticut stands at 33 out of 100, New Hampshire at 39 out of 100, and Massachusetts at 44 out of 100, the report shows.
However, Brenda Clement, director at HousingWorks RI, said the Gap report numbers fail to tell the full story behind the Rhode Island's housing shortage. With Rhode Island being the smallest state in the country, the figures are bound to be misleading, she said.
"Even if the gap is only 47 out of 100, that's still not even low enough. The other 53 out of 100 will be homeless or living in substandard living conditions." Clement said.
The report revealed there are 46,341 extremely low-income households in Rhode Island, but only 21,662 affordable rental homes available to them.
"Here, the report tries to use the number of availabilities to make the housing situation look better. But what about vacancy rates? A healthy vacancy rate is 6-8%. Rhode Island is 2-4%!"
To make matters worse, Clement said this year's numbers for affordable housing will almost certainly show a greater shortage across the board by this time next year considering the current political climate.
"The federal funding freeze hasn't even impacted the 2025 Gap report numbers yet, and it will get way worse by next year. We're troubled," Clement said. "Most of Rhode Island's housing money comes from federal funds. There's currently $120 million in funding for affordable housing in Rhode Island, but it's a billion-dollar problem."
As a result of the federal aid freeze, Clement said that she expects the state's budget to take a hit next year as well. She cited limited inventory, a lack of housing diversity, and an older existing housing stock, as some of the many challenges facing Rhode Island renters. That issue is clearly more pronounced for extreme low-income renters, she added.
Melina Lodge, executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island, echoed Clement's concerns while pushing for local lawmakers and regulators to invest in and expand affordable housing projects throughout the state.
“As threats to federal housing and homelessness programs loom, we must double down on our efforts to make up for decades of under-investment and restrictive land use policies, expanding the housing stock for those who need it most.”
Housing GAP reports analyze the gap between the current housing supply and the housing demand in a specific area. These reports aim to identify areas with a shortage or surplus of housing units, taking into account factors like population growth, income levels, housing prices, and the availability of affordable housing.
The "gap" represents the disparity between the housing needed (based on population, economic factors, and other data) and the housing that is currently available or under construction.
(MINOR edits to clarify study only deals with rental property.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
