Idaho Housing Overview
Through shelter we empower.
A decent and affordable place to live helps families by freeing them from physical and mental hardships and placing them on a path of new opportunity and increased confidence and self-reliance. A family’s partnership with Habitat means that they have a stable place to live and to spend time together. An affordable mortgage means that they have a chance to create savings and invest in their own education. A decent roof over their heads establishes that home as a place that protects their health instead of endangering it.
Habitat works with families to help them acquire the access, skills and financial education necessary to become successful homeowners. By partnering with us, families are seizing the opportunities and possibilities that decent, affordable housing represents.
Families in need of affordable housing live everywhere: small towns, villages, sprawling cities and metropolitan areas, and YOUR community. Housing need presents itself, not only in the Idaho Falls area, but across the entire United States and the world.
Housing insecurity touches nearly half of adults at some point in their lives. A majority of Americans believe that it is challenging to find affordable, quality housing in their communities.
More than half of all adults say they have made at least one trade-off in order to cover their rent or mortgage. These trade-offs may include taking a second job, cutting back on health care or healthy food, or moving to neighborhoods that may be less safe.
One of the biggest obstacles to a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live can be the access for land to build on. Building sites for Habitat homes in Idaho Falls are very rarely available and when they are available, they are no longer affordable.
Housing instability, including frequent moves, overcrowding and threats of eviction or foreclosure, creates stress, depression and hopelessness for far too many families.
Adults living in housing that they struggle to afford often describe themselves as less healthy and the well-being and development of children becomes compromised by living with insecure housing.
Families paying too high a percentage of their income for housing often find themselves making impossible choices. Rent or healthcare, food or transportation.
Housing Affordability in Idaho
Housing affordability remains a major challenge in Idaho, where wages have not kept pace with rising housing costs. As of January 2025, the median home price was $350,000. According to HUD, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,425 per month, while a three-bedroom apartment averages $1,885 per month.
The United Way ALICE Report (2022) found that a two-parent family of four in Idaho must earn $28.62 per hour just to cover basic needs (“survival budget”). To achieve financial stability, that same family would need to earn $52.66 per hour. With the federal minimum wage still at $7.25 per hour, even two full-time working parents fall far short of meeting essential living expenses.
Homelessness and housing insecurity are growing concerns across the state. While exact numbers are difficult to measure, increases in the number of families seeking help from local food banks and soup kitchens show a clear trend: more Idaho families are struggling to afford both housing and food.