{"id":8273,"date":"2022-12-19T13:58:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T18:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:55:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:55:22","slug":"10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/12\/19\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"10 facts about U.S. renters during the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_feature.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-420661\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A &#8220;for rent&#8221; sign on a San Francisco apartment building in September 2020. (Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly three years into a pandemic that has tightened the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/03\/23\/key-facts-about-housing-affordability-in-the-u-s\/\">supply of affordable housing<\/a> in the United States, 60% of Americans say they\u2019re very concerned about the cost of housing, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2022\/10\/20\/midterm-voting-intentions-are-divided-economic-gloom-persists\/pp_2022-10-20_midterm-voting_0-02\/\">Pew Research Center survey conducted in October<\/a>. Rising housing costs have hit renters hard during this span \u2013 and prices have continued to soar over the past year, making <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/2022-midterm-elections-florida-san-francisco-pasadena-c5119510b99f75bba8a9530aa8475c96\">rent control<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/11\/08\/colorado-prop-123-results-affordable-housing-funding\/\">other related proposals<\/a> prominent issues in the recent midterm elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some key facts about U.S. renters and the problems they have faced with housing affordability during the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/topic\/coronavirus-disease-covid-19\/\">COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, based primarily on a Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to share key facts about U.S. renters and their experiences with housing affordability during the pandemic. It draws primarily on 2021 data \u2013 the most recent data available \u2013 from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/ahs.html\">American Housing Survey<\/a> (AHS). The AHS is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted biennially from May to September by the U.S. Census Bureau. It collects data on the size, composition and quality of the nation\u2019s housing, as well as on the demographic and income characteristics of U.S. homeowners and renters. AHS collects data on the household, using the household head as the survey reference person. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/ahs\/about\/methodology.html\">Read the AHS\u2019s methodology<\/a> for more information on how the survey is conducted. The Census Bureau\u2019s own research shows that it has long undercounted Black, Latino and some other population groups, which could mean they are underrepresented in the demographic statistics in this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis also includes public opinion data from <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2020\/09\/24\/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest\/\">a Center survey conducted in August 2020<\/a>. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More information about the survey question and methodology can be found via the links in the text.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10699\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/12\/19\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/ft_22-11-18_renters_1a-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f3f1eb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f3f1eb;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that the majority of U.S. households that rent are headed by people under age 45\" class=\"wp-image-10699 not-transparent\" width=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=148,300 148w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=504,1024 504w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=199,405 199w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=200,406 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=260,528 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=310,630 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=420,854 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=157,320 157w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_1a.png?resize=315,640 315w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nearly 46 million households rented their homes in 2021. <\/strong>Renters accounted for more than a third of all households in the U.S., while homeowners accounted for nearly two-thirds, according to data from the Census Bureau\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/ahs\/about.html\">2021 American Housing Survey<\/a> (AHS). The number of renters in 2021 was <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2017\/07\/19\/more-u-s-households-are-renting-than-at-any-point-in-50-years\/\">higher than a decade ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Relatively large shares of Americans who are younger, Black or Hispanic rented during the pandemic.<\/strong> A third of renting households were headed by someone under the age of 35; an additional 20% were ages 35 to 44, according to AHS data. The <em>median<\/em> age was 43 for renters in 2021, compared with 57 for homeowners. The median age of household heads overall was 53 that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black and Hispanic adults made up a disproportionately large percentage of renters (21% each) compared with their overall shares of the U.S. population (12% and 19%, respectively). Still, the largest share of renters \u2013 half in 2021 \u2013 were non-Hispanic White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A majority of renters lived with someone else, and two-bedroom arrangements were the most common. <\/strong>Household heads who rented were more likely to live with at least one other person than to live alone in 2021 (62% vs. 38%), according to AHS data. The largest share of renters who lived with other people (42%) were married couples living alone or with children or other family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among households who rented, 40% lived in two-bedroom housing, while about a quarter each lived in one-bedroom (27%) or three-bedroom accommodations (24%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10691\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/12\/19\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/ft_22-11-18_renters_2-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e4e6dc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e4e6dc;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that average household income is much lower among U.S. renters than homeowners\" class=\"wp-image-10691 not-transparent\" width=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=209,300 209w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=768,1103 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=713,1024 713w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=282,405 282w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=200,287 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=260,373 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=310,445 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=420,603 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=640,919 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=740,1062 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=160,230 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_2.png?resize=320,459 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Renters tended to have much lower household incomes than homeowners. <\/strong>The median household income for renters was $41,000 in 2021, compared with $78,000 among homeowners. A majority of renters (57%) had annual household incomes of less than $50,000 that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The median monthly cost of rent alone increased 12% since before the pandemic, from $909 in 2019 to $1,015 in 2021,<\/strong> according to AHS data. By comparison, overall inflation was about 6% during this span.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AHS estimates that about half of rental households (51%) spent $1,000 or more a month on rent in 2021 \u2013 up from 44% in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10695\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/12\/19\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/ft_22-11-18_renters_3-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae5d8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae5d8;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that San Francisco had the highest median rent in 2021 ($2,065), but Atlanta had the biggest increase since before the pandemic (17%)\" class=\"wp-image-10695 not-transparent\" width=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=153,300 153w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=522,1024 522w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=206,405 206w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=200,392 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=260,510 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=310,608 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=420,824 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=160,314 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_3.png?resize=320,628 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Renters in some metro areas faced especially sizable rent increases during the pandemic. <\/strong>Of the largest 15 metropolitan areas the Census Bureau\u2019s AHS covers, eight saw increases of 10% or more in median monthly rent between 2019 and 2021. The median monthly cost of rent rose the most in Atlanta (17%), from $1,025 in 2019 to $1,200 in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, the San Francisco metro area had the highest median monthly rent ($2,065) in 2021, followed by Los Angeles ($1,650), Washington, D.C. ($1,629) and Boston ($1,600). The New York City and Seattle metro areas were tied for the fifth-highest median monthly rent ($1,500).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metropolitan areas were already seeing rent hikes before the COVID-19 outbreak. In 10 urban areas, median monthly rent increased 10% or more between 2017 and 2019. Riverside, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, saw the largest increases during that span (18%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Some metropolitan renters reported housing inadequacies in 2021, when many Americans were spending more time at home. <\/strong>In the Houston and New York City metro areas, 14% of renter households said they had severely or moderately inadequate housing. (The <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/ahs\/2021\/2021%20AHS%20Definitions.pdf\">AHS uses certain criteria<\/a> \u2013 such as issues with plumbing, heating, electricity, wiring, upkeep or other problems \u2013 to classify this measure.) About one-in-ten renters in Dallas (11%) and 9% each in Boston and Washington said the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Some Americans struggled to pay rent early in the coronavirus outbreak. <\/strong>Around one-in-six U.S. adults (16%) said in <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2020\/09\/24\/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest\/sdt_2020-09-22_covid-personal-finances_0-06a\/\">an August 2020 Center survey<\/a> that they had problems paying their rent or mortgage since the U.S. coronavirus outbreak started that February. Black (28%) and Hispanic (26%) adults were especially likely to report they struggled to pay for rent or a mortgage during this time; 11% of White adults said the same. Around a third of Americans with lower incomes (32%) also said they faced this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10698\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/12\/19\/10-facts-about-u-s-renters-during-the-pandemic\/ft_22-11-18_renters_4-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e8ebe6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e8ebe6;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that on average, U.S. rents spent a third of their household income on monthly housing costs in 2022\" class=\"wp-image-10698 not-transparent\" width=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=166,300 166w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=768,1390 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=566,1024 566w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=224,405 224w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=200,362 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=260,470 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=310,561 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=420,760 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=640,1158 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=740,1339 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=160,290 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/FT_22.11.18_Renters_4.png?resize=320,579 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Renters spent a greater share of their household income on housing costs than homeowners did. <\/strong>The median percentage of household income that renters spent on their total monthly housing costs in 2021 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/ahs\/2021\/2021%20AHS%20Definitions.pdf\">as defined by the AHS<\/a> \u2013 was 29%, compared with 18% for homeowners. For renters, total monthly housing costs include items such as utilities and property insurance in addition to rent. For owners, costs include mortgage payments, utilities and routine maintenance costs, real estate taxes and other expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly four-in-ten renters spent 30% or more of their household income on their total monthly housing costs, including 15% who spent <em>half or more<\/em> of their income on this. This meets the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s definition of being \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huduser.gov\/portal\/pdredge\/pdr_edge_featd_article_092214.html\">cost burdened<\/a>.\u201d Although spending 30% of income on housing has long been considered the most a household should spend to still have money left over for essentials, some researchers have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jchs.harvard.edu\/blog\/is-there-a-better-way-to-measure-housing-affordability\">argued this measure should be adjusted<\/a>&nbsp;to reflect different types of households, changes in the cost of additional necessities, and other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Even before the pandemic, renters were spending substantial shares of their income on housing.<\/strong> In 2019, the median share of income that households who rent spent on their total monthly housing costs was 28%, according to AHS data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since much of renters\u2019 household income already goes toward housing costs, rent increases can potentially push those at the lower ends of the income spectrum completely out of the market. A 2020 analysis from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/blog\/how-covid-19-could-aggravate-homelessness-crisis\">U.S. Government Accountability Office<\/a> found that a $100 increase in median rent was associated with a 9% increase in the estimated homelessness rate \u2013 even after factoring in other relevant factors such as changes in wages and the unemployment rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the federal government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/26\/us\/eviction-moratorium-ends.html\">national eviction moratorium<\/a> protected renters during earlier stages of the coronavirus outbreak, the policy has since ended, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/evictions-are-piling-us-covid-era-protections-end-rents-climb-rcna54798\">eviction filings<\/a> have reportedly risen in recent months. Other state- and city-wide pandemic-related tenant protections are now expiring in <a href=\"https:\/\/laist.com\/news\/housing-homelessness\/los-angeles-county-covid-tenant-eviction-protections-moratorium-rent-increase-december-31\">Los Angeles<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijpr.org\/housing\/2022-10-05\/oregons-last-pandemic-related-rental-protections-have-ended\">Oregon<\/a>. And in New York City, tenants in rent-stabilized apartments are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/newyork\/news\/nyc-rent-stabilized-apartments-rent-increases\/\">facing rent increases<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the span of the pandemic, rising housing costs have hit renters hard &#8211; and prices have continued to soar over the past year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":648,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-12-19T18:58:15Z","apple_news_api_id":"da1d306d-21a7-41c4-8a52-63f7346a17be","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-12-21T16:28:14Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2h0wbSGnQcSKUmP3NGoXvg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[{"key":"_4k8yq2q0v","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2022\/03\/24\/financial-issues-top-the-list-of-reasons-u-s-adults-live-in-multigenerational-homes\/","postId":407671,"title":"Financial 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