How many households in spend too much on housing?

Updated annually
About 2.91M in 2024. That's 38.3% of all New York 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.

2.91M

New York households were cost burdened in 2024

38.3%

of New York households were cost burdened in 2024
The number of cost-burdened households in New York decreased from 2.96M in 2014 to 2.91M in 2024. 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 2024, 38.3% of New York households were cost burdened, higher than the national average of 33%.

In New York, 38.3% of households were cost burdened in 2024.

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.
Since 2014, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households in New York has decreased from 31.4% to 27.8% in 2024. Meanwhile, cost burden decreased from 54.7% to 51.5% among renter households. In New York, the cost-burdened share of owner households was higher and the cost-burdened share of renter households was lower than the national average in 2024.

In New York, 51.5% of renter households and 27.8% of owner households were cost burdened in 2024.

Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing

In 2020–2024, the share of owner households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 23.4%. (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 New York, the highest and lowest were New York, NY area at 32.3% and Ithaca, NY area at 16.6%.

Across metro areas, 23.4% 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 New York, the highest and lowest were Ithaca, NY area at 58.6% and Utica, NY area at 45.3%.

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 New York, NY area, where cost burden was 20.1 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and highest in the Ithaca, NY area where the gap was 41.9 percentage points. Within New York overall, the gap was 23.7 percentage points.

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

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

Cost-burdened households, New York 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.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

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.