Housing is the single biggest factor impacting economic mobility for Americans. When residents have stable living conditions, the benefits are apparent — students do better in school, and health outcomes improve. Communities benefit as a whole from this stability. Opportunities for investment growth and economic prosperity develop when sustainable housing serves the needs of residents across generations and income levels. It’s up to local governments to make the right housing decisions to create positive outcomes for residents and communities.

Stable housing is a prerequisite for: Economic mobility. Federal investment in affordable, stable housing is also an investment in children and their future. Student achievement is maximized when students can go home to stable, affordable housing. Low-income children in affordable housing score better on cognitive development tests than those in unaffordable housing. Younger low-income children in families using housing vouchers to move to neighborhoods with better opportunities earn an average of $302K more in their lifetime. And affordable housing options in high-opportunity neighborhoods create economically diverse schools, which are 22 times more likely to be high performing than high-poverty schools.