America’s rental affordability disaster is no longer just squeezing the poorest households — it’s more and more taking a chew out of middle-income earners, too.
More than 22.6 million renter households nationwide are spending over 30% of their income on housing, with roughly 12.1 million shelling out more than half their earnings just to keep a roof over their heads, according to a new evaluation by Enterprise Community Partners.
The findings, primarily based on the US Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, show that practically half of American renters are now thought-about cost-burdened — even as rental costs confirmed indicators of easing in 2024.
Millions of American renters are struggling to keep up with housing prices as affordability pressures mount. Getty Images
And while the lowest-income Americans stay the hardest hit, the financial pressure is steadily spreading up the income ladder.
Renters incomes between 60% and 80% of their space’s median income saw a 5% increase in their cost-burden charge in contrast with the earlier 12 months — the largest relative leap among income teams.
Meanwhile, households incomes between 30% and 60% of space median income skilled a notably troubling shift: The share spending more than half their income on housing climbed from 34% to 36% in just one 12 months.
Even a six-figure wage doesn’t guarantee much respiration room in costly rental markets. As The Post not too long ago reported, a family incomes $100,000 can afford just 801 sq. toes and one bed room in the New York metro space, in contrast with a four-bedroom, 2,119-square-foot home in Memphis, Tenn., on the same price range.
The rental affordability disaster is more and more affecting middle-income households across the nation. auseklis – stock.adobe.com
For the nation’s poorest renters, the state of affairs is even more dire.
Nearly three-quarters of households incomes less than 30% of their space’s median income were severely cost-burdened, leaving little room in their budgets for groceries, transportation, medical payments or sudden bills.
The affordability crunch has endured despite some aid in asking rents, with the share of cost-burdened households remaining above pre-pandemic ranges.
Separate analysis from the Urban Institute discovered that 20% of renters ages 18 to 64 made partial or late rent funds at some level in 2025, with middle-income households more and more struggling to keep up.
Rising housing prices are leaving renters with less money for on a regular basis bills and financial savings. Getty Images
And the financial strain extends beyond housing.
A Pew Research Center survey discovered that 21% of Americans had problem paying their rent or mortgage, while 27% reported being unable to cowl all their month-to-month payments.
The burden also falls inconsistently across racial and ethnic teams.
About 57% of black renter households and 54% of Hispanic or Latino renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing, in contrast with 45% of white households and 44% of Asian households.
Nearly one-third of black renters and 29% of Hispanic renters spent more than half their income on rent.
For renters already stretching their paychecks, the penalties go effectively beyond the month-to-month rent invoice.
High housing prices can make it more durable to construct emergency financial savings, put money apart for a down fee or cowl other primary requirements — probably pushing homeownership further out of attain.
Nearly half of US renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Getty Images/iStockphoto
The financial squeeze is also making it more durable to escape the rental market. A latest research discovered that New Yorkers need an estimated three years and eight months to save for a 15% down fee on a typical home — practically a 12 months longer than the national average.
The growing financial pressure comes as housing affordability nationwide may not return to 2018 ranges until 2031, according to a Redfin evaluation, with patrons in New York City and Long Island probably dealing with an even longer wait.
Enterprise Community Partners called for increasing the provide of reasonably priced housing, preserving current rental items and strengthening rental help applications to ease the growing financial pressure.
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