Affordable housing in the US is increasingly scarce, making renters ask: Where do we go?

Community organizers speak in a vacant house in West Oakland, Calif., that they occupied in 2019 and 2020 to bring attention to affordable housing. Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images

The United States is facing an expanding gap between how much workers earn and how much they have to pay for housing.

Workers have faced stagnant wages for the past 40 years. Yet the cost of rent has steadily increased during that time, with sharp increases of 14% to 40% over the past two years.