How many households in Massachusetts spend too much on housing?
Data updated July 26, 2024
About 997K households in 2022. That’s 36.5% of all Massachusetts 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,
997K
households were cost burdened
In 2022,
36.5%
of households were cost burdened
The number of cost-burdened households in Massachusetts increased from 937 thousand in 2012 to 997 thousand 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, 36.5% of Massachusetts households were cost burdened, higher than the national average of 32.5%.
In Massachusetts, 36.5% of households were cost burdened in 2022.
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, cost burden had increased among renters while staying flat among homeowner households.
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Since 2012, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households in Massachusetts has decreased from 31.5% to 26.8% in 2022. Meanwhile, cost burden increased from 49.4% to 53.4% among renter households.
In Massachusetts, 53.4% of renter and 26.8% of owner households were cost burdened in 2022.
Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing
From 2018 to 2022, the metro areas with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened owner households were the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California metro area at 33.8% and Morgantown, West Virginia, at 12.8%. In Massachusetts, the highest and lowest were Barnstable Town at 28.9% and Worcester at 24.4%.
Across metro areas, 22.7% of owner households were cost burdened.
Share of owner households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the share of renter households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 50.5%. The metro areas in the US with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened renter households were the Greater Miami metro area at 62.6% (highest) and Appleton, Wisconsin, at 32.8% (lowest).
Across metro areas, 50.5% of renter households were cost burdened.
Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2018–2022
The difference between the cost-burdened share of owner and renter households was narrowest in the Boston, MA area, where cost burden was 23.2 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and highest in the Barnstable Town, MA area where the gap was 29.1 percentage points. Within the state overall, the gap was 26.6 percentage points.
Cost-burdened households, Massachusetts metro areas (2018-2022)
| 1. | Barnstable Town, MA area | 58.0% |
| 2. | Boston, MA area | 49.8% |
| 3. | Pittsfield, MA area | 51.6% |
| 4. | Springfield, MA area | 53.4% |
| 5. | Worcester, MA area | 48.8% |
