Nearly Half of Renter Households Are Cost-Burdened, Proportions Differ by Race

SEPT. 12, 2024 - Over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States for whom rent burden is calculated. Although the median ratio of income-to-housing costs for renters remained unchanged from 2022 at 31%, there are differences in the income-to-housing cost ratio when comparing across householder's race. That's according to newly available data tables released today from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), 1-year estimates.

"Housing costs rose between 2022 and 2023 for both homeowners and renters. The median cost of housing for renters rose from $1,354 to $1,406 (after adjusting for inflation)," said Molly Ross, a survey statistician with the U.S. Census Bureau. "And new data from the 2023 ACS, 1-year estimates show that the share of a rented household's income that goes towards these housing costs differs by householder race."

Households are considered cost-burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments, and other housing costs, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Households spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs are considered severely cost-burdened.

Within Black or African American alone renter households, or households where the householder identified as being only Black or African American, 4.6 million (56.2%) paid more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023. Another 2.0 million (54.7%) Some Other Race alone renter households were cost-burdened.

Among the other race groups:

• 1 million (43.4%) Asian alone renter households were cost-burdened.
• 10.4 million (46.7%) White alone renter households were cost-burdened.
• 229,000 (48.8%) American Indian or Alaska Native alone renter households were cost-burdened.
• 53,000 (51.7%) Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone renter households were cost-burdened. The share of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone renters that were cost-burdened is not significantly different from American Indian or Alaska Native renter households, Some Other Race alone, Two or More Races, or Hispanic renter households.
• 2.8 million (51.4%) Two or More Races renter households were cost-burdened.
• 4.8 million (53.2%) Hispanic renter households were cost-burdened.

The <new race tables> included in the 2023 ACS, 1-year release also contain the number of severely cost-burdened households by householder race and ethnicity. About 2.5 million (30.6%) Black alone and 1.1 million (28.8%) Some Other Race alone renter householders were severely cost-burdened according to the 2023 ACS, 1-year estimates.

More information about renter cost burden is available in the <Largest Annual Real Increase in Gross Rental Cost Since 2011 America Counts story> also released today.

While renters had a higher median housing cost as a percentage of income (31.0%) compared to homeowners (21.1% for homeowners with a mortgage and 11.5% for those without a mortgage), 18.8 million homeowners were spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

One of the costs impacting homeowners was insurance. According to table B25141, which provides estimates of annual property insurance cost by mortgage status, 5.4 million of the 85.7 million homeowners in the United States paid $4,000 a year or more for homeowner's insurance in 2023. Florida had the highest number (1.2 million) of homeowners paying $4,000 a year or more for homeowner's insurance. Texas (784,000), California (560,000), New York (272,000), and Louisiana (215,000) were other states among the largest number of homeowners paying $4,000 or more a year for property insurance.

More data about yearly property insurance payments by mortgage status and percentage of income spent on housing costs by race and ethnicity can be found in the new tables B25141 and B25140A-I, respectively.

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