Population

How much do households in the United States spend on rent?

Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.3K per month, or 31.7% of their income, in 2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was

31.7%

of median income
In 2022,

$1.3K

was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, 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. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.

Median rent was 31.7% of the median household income in 2022.

Ratio of median rent to median renter household income

The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. It was 31.7% in 2022 after decreasing 0.1 percentage points from the previous year.

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The ratio of median rent to median income varies throughout the United States. It was highest in Puerto Rico (39.8%) and Florida (36.2%) and lowest in North Dakota (23.5%) and Wyoming (24.8%).

Compared to income, rent was highest in Puerto Rico in 2022.

Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2022

In 2023, median rent in Puerto Rico was $535 per month, the lowest among all states and Washington, DC. Median monthly renter household income was $1.34K, resulting in the least affordable rental market based on a 39.8% rent-to-income ratio.

Renter income and rent, by state (2022)

Renter income and rent, by state (2022)

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