Spending too Much for Housing in the US
I believe we were married about 8 years before we had enough funds to put down on a home. ~ $55,000 in an Oak and Hickory forest. Two bedrooms on a quarter acre of land. We were able to put 10% down and had an 8% mortgage rate. One year after we sold and bought a newer home in an upscale neighborhood, our new rate was 12% for a $105,000 home. Homes were not as pricey then. Salaries were lower and we were younger. I can imagine how some of the younger crowd can afford housing today without help.
Interesting and Easy read . . .
“How many households in the US spend too much on housing,” USA Facts
About 42.5 million in 2024. That’s 33% of all households. These households spent at least 30% of their total income on rent or mortgage payments and utilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings.
Source: US Census Bureau
The number of cost-burdened households increased from 39 million in 2014 to 42.5 million in 2024. Cost burden considers both household income and housing costs, so factors affecting either of these can influence the number of burdened households. For example:
- Changes in wages, employment status, or the number of people in a household can impact household income.
- Changes in housing supply/demand or interest rates can affect costs.
A growing or declining US population can also affect the number of cost-burdened households. To counteract this, USAFacts analyzed the percentages of cost-burdened households rather than just the number. This prevents such population changes from skewing the data.
In 2024, 33% of US households were cost burdened. This is down 1.5 percentage points from 2014.
Cost burden varies for renters and homeowners. For example, during the Great Recession (2007–2009) unemployment rose, millions of homes entered foreclosure, and rental demand increased. By 2010, cost burden had increased among renters while staying flat among homeowner households. Since 2014, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households has decreased from 25% to 23.6% in 2024. Meanwhile, cost burden has not changed from 51.8% among renter households.
Cost burdens also vary nationwide. The share of renters who are cost-burdened ranged from 36.1% in North Dakota to 62.1% of all renter households in Florida in 2024.
In 50 out of 50 states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, a smaller share of owner households was cost burdened than renter households in 2024. Among owner households, the share experiencing cost burden ranged from 15.1% in North Dakota to 32.2% in California.
Montana had the narrowest difference between cost-burdened renters and owners: 19.5 percentage points, with the burden being higher for renters. Louisiana had the largest gap: 32.3 percentage points.
Other options can be found on the site. Such as Renter and also the Gap between Renter and House Owner by percentage. Typically, a Renter is paying more than an Owner for Housing. Data is on the site.