In 2020, the federal government passed several provisions extending unemployment insurance to address the economic fallout related to the pandemic. Between April and July, the federal government provided an additional $600 a week to those on unemployment. The extension expired on July 31.
A version of this map was featured in an analysis of that extension.
In December, a $900 billion stimulus package included an unemployment insurance boost of $300 a week.
The rent data used in this interactive map is based on 2021 fair market rent data from HUD. The original data is primarily divided by HUD-defined metro or non-metro areas. In most states, individual counties are assigned to a single area. However, in New England, counties are sometimes split between various areas. In those cases, this map uses rent data from the HUD-defined area with the most population in the county.
Food and transportation data comes from the BLS 2019 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Based on the survey, those who are among the middle 20% of income earners spent $625 on food every month and $821 on transportation.