How much do households in spend on rent?

Updated annually
About $1,338, or 32.2% of their income, in 2024. This is measured by comparing median, or average, rent and median monthly income for renting households.

$1.34K

median monthly rent in North Carolina (2024)

32.2%

average share of income spent on rent in North Carolina (2024)
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 average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.

North Carolina’s rent-to-income ratio was lower than the US overall in 2024.

Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income

The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In North Carolina, the rent-to-income ratio reached 33.5% that year. Most recently, in 2024, North Carolina’s rent-to-income ratio was 32.2%, 0.58 percentage points lower than the national rate.

Which North Carolina metros have the most and least affordable rent?

Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.9% in 2019–2023.

Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in North Carolina

In 2019–2023, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.9%. Metro areas are made up of economically interconnected counties that include at least one urban area. A single metro area can include multiple cities and cross state lines. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Ponce, PR area at 52.9% (highest) and the Sheboygan, WI area, at 20.7% (lowest). In North Carolina, the highest and lowest were the Wilmington, NC area at 33.6% and the Hickory, NC area at 25.5%.
During that period, the Raleigh, NC area had the highest median rent at $1,459 per month and highest median monthly income at $4,885 out of 15 North Carolina metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was sixth lowest in North Carolina.

Renter income and rent, North Carolina metro areas (2019–2023)

Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within North Carolina

Renter income and rent, North 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.