PopulationEconomy

How many households in Washington state spend too much on housing?

Data updated July 26, 2024
About 1.0 million in 2022. That’s 33.8% of all Washington 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,

1.0M

households were cost burdened
In 2022,

33.8%

of households were cost burdened
The number of cost-burdened households in Washington increased from 965 thousand in 2012 to 1.0 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, 33.8% of Washington state households were cost burdened, higher than the national average of 32.5%.

In Washington state, 33.8% 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 Washington state has decreased from 30.1% to 24.5% in 2022. Meanwhile, cost burden increased from 50.7% to 51.2% among renter households.

In Washington state, 51.2% of renter and 24.5% 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% (highest) and Morgantown, West Virginia, at 12.8% (lowest). In Washington, the highest and lowest were Bellingham at 26.1% and Kennewick at 18.1%. Cost-burdened households are those that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which can impact their ability to afford other necessities such as food, healthcare, and transportation. Understanding these statistics helps highlight the varying degrees of housing affordability challenges across different regions.

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). In Washington, the highest and lowest were the Bellingham area at 56.1% and the Wenatchee area at 39.9%.

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 Wenatchee, WA area, where cost burden was 21.1 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and highest in the Walla Walla, WA area where the gap was 33.8 percentage points. Within the state overall, the gap was 26.7%.

Cost-burdened households, Washington state metro areas (2018-2022)

Cost-burdened households, Washington state metro areas (2018-2022)

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