How many households in the US spend too much on housing?
Data updated July 26, 2024
About 40.9 million households in the United States were cost-burdened in 2022. That’s 32.5% 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.
Showing data for
In 2022,
40.9M
households were cost burdened
In 2022,
32.5%
of households were cost burdened
The number of cost-burdened households increased from 40.3 million in 2012 to 40.9 million in 2022. 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 2022, 32.5% of US households were cost burdened. This is down 3.4 percentage points from 2012.
A higher share of renter households are cost-burdened than owner households
Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing
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, the cost burden had increased among renters while remaining stable among homeowner households. From 2012 to 2022, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households decreased from 27.4% to 22.8%. Meanwhile, the cost burden among renter households changed from 52.0% to 51.9% over the same period.
Subscribe to get unbiased, data-driven insights sent to your inbox weekly.
Cost burdens also vary nationwide. The share of renters who are cost-burdened ranged from 39.4% in South Dakota to 60.3% of all renter households in Florida in 2022.
Florida had the highest cost-burdened share of renters in 2022.
Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2022
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 2022. Among owner households, the share experiencing cost burden ranged from 14.2% in West Virginia to 31.1% in California.
California had the highest proportion of cost-burdened homeowners in 2022.
Share of owner households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2022
In 2022, Alaska had the narrowest difference between cost-burdened renters and owners: 20.8 percentage points, with the burden being higher for renters. West Virginia had the largest gap: 36.3 percentage points.
Cost-burdened households, by state (2022)
| 1. | Alabama | 49.5% |
| 2. | Alaska | 43.1% |
| 3. | Arizona | 52.8% |
| 4. | Arkansas | 45.8% |
| 5. | California | 56.0% |
| 6. | Colorado | 53.2% |
| 7. | Connecticut | 53.4% |
| 8. | Delaware | 48.3% |
| 9. | Florida | 60.3% |
| 10. | Georgia | 51.8% |
