Middle-income renters face growing cost-burden as housing prices stay high
A new analysis shows that an expanding share of middle-income households are spending a large portion of their earnings on rent, even as overall rent growth eases.
Enterprise Community Partners analyzed the 2024 American Community Survey and found that cost-burdened renters now comprise almost half of all renting households. While rent growth showed modest signs of easing, the financial strain is climbing up the income ladder. Renters making 60-80% of their area’s median income recorded the largest relative increase, a 5% rise in the share paying over 30% of earnings on housing.
Those earning 30-60% of median income saw the share spending more than half their income on rent climb to 36% from the previous year. The poorest renters remain hardest hit, with roughly 75% of households below 30% of area median income classified as severely cost-burdened, leaving little room for other essentials. Racial disparities persist, as Black and Hispanic renters are more likely to exceed the 30% threshold than white or Asian renters. Experts urge expanding affordable housing stock, preserving existing units, and boosting rental assistance to alleviate the pressure.
