How many households in spend too much on housing?

Updated annually
About 613,600 in 2024. That's 28.7% of all South Carolina 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.

614K

South Carolina households were cost burdened in 2024

28.7%

of South Carolina households were cost burdened in 2024
The number of cost-burdened households in South Carolina increased from 544,800 in 2014 to 613,600 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, 28.7% of South Carolina households were cost burdened, lower than the national average of 33%.

In South Carolina, 28.7% 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 South Carolina has decreased from 22.4% to 20.4% in 2024. Meanwhile, cost burden increased from 51.9% to 52.6% among renter households. In South Carolina, the cost-burdened share of owner households was lower and the cost-burdened share of renter households was higher than the national average in 2024.

In South Carolina, 52.6% of renter households and of owner households were cost burdened in 2024.

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

In 2019–2023, the share of owner households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 22.9%. (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 33.9% (highest) and Columbus, IN area, at 13% (lowest). Among the metros at least partially in South Carolina, the highest and lowest were Hilton Head Island, SC area at 24.7% and Greenville, SC area at 16.3%.

Across metro areas, 22.9 of owner households were cost burdened.

Share of owner households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2019–2023

In 2019–2023, the share of renter households in metro areas that were cost burdened was 51%. The metro areas in the US with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened renter households were the Miami, FL area at 63.1% (highest) and the Sheboygan, WI area, at 31.9% (lowest). In South Carolina, the highest and lowest were Columbia, SC area at 54.2% and Sumter, SC area at 48.8%.

Across metro areas, 51% of renter households were cost burdened.

Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2019–2023

The difference between the cost-burdened share of owner and renter households was narrowest in Hilton Head Island, SC area, where cost burden was 25 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and highest in the Augusta, GA area where the gap was 35.3 percentage points. Within South Carolina overall, the gap was 32.1 percentage points.

Cost-burdened households, South Carolina metro areas (2019–2023)

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

Cost-burdened households, South Carolina metro areas (2019–2023)

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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.