How many households in spend too much on housing?

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About 491,200 households were cost-burdened in 2025. That's 27.3% of all households in Kentucky. 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.

491K

Kentucky households were cost burdened in 2025

27.3%

of Kentucky households were cost burdened in 2025
The number of cost-burdened households in Kentucky increased from 444,500 in 2015 to 491,200 in 2025. 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 2025, 27.3% of households in Kentucky were cost burdened, lower than the national average of 33.6%.

In Kentucky, 27.3% of households were cost burdened in 2025.

Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2005–2025

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.

What is the difference in housing cost burden for renters versus homeowners in Kentucky? How does this compare to the US overall?

Since 2015, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households in Kentucky has increased from 18.6% to 19.4% in 2025. Meanwhile, cost burden increased from 45.9% to 46.6% among renter households. In Kentucky, the cost-burdened share of owner households was lower and the cost-burdened share of renter households was lower than the national average in 2025.

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In Kentucky, 46.6% of renter households and 19.4% of owner households were cost burdened in 2025.

Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2005–2025

How high is cost burden for renters in Kentucky cities compared to other US cities?

In 2020–2024, the share of owner households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 23.3%. (Metro areas are made up of a city with at least 50,000 people and the economically and socially interconnected counties.) The metro areas with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened owner households were the Miami, FL area at 35.1% (highest) and Morgantown, WV area, at 13.2% (lowest).
Among the metros at least partially in Kentucky, the highest and lowest were Louisville, KY area at 18.5% and Bowling Green, KY area at 15.1%.

Across metro areas, 23.3% of owner households were cost burdened.

Share of owner households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2020–2024

In 2020–2024, the share of renter households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 51.8%. The metro areas in the US with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened renter households were the Miami, FL area at 64.2% (highest) and the Sheboygan, WI area, at 34% (lowest). In Kentucky, the highest and lowest were Huntington, WV area at 49.6% and Elizabethtown, KY area at 37.3%.

Across metro areas, 51.8% of renter households were cost burdened.

Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2020–2024

The difference between the cost-burdened share of owner and renter households was narrowest in the Elizabethtown, KY area, where cost burden was 19.4 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and widest in the Huntington, WV area, where the gap was 34.4 percentage points. Within Kentucky overall, the gap was 27.2 percentage points.

Cost-burdened households, Kentucky metro areas (2020–2024)

Metro areas where at least one of its primary counties are within Kentucky

Cost-burdened households, Kentucky metro areas (2020–2024)

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.