The Housing Affordability Challenges of America’s Working Households - February 27, 2014

Even as the economy continues to improve, many American workers are still struggling to make ends meet. For millions of households, housing costs account for more than half of the household’s monthly income. These cost pressures put a strain on households, leaving too little for other necessities like food, health care, transportation, and child care. In addition, spending a disproportionate share of income on housing stifles economic growth as these households restrict their spending not only on other important necessities, but also on non-essential goods and services. 

 

Overall, 15.6 percent of all U.S. households (18.1 million households) were severely housing cost burdened in 2012. Severely cost burdened households are those that spend more than half of their income on housing costs. Renter households are more than twice as likely to be housing cost burdened than owner households. In 2012, 24.7 percent of all renter households were severely burdened compared to 10.5 percent of all owner households.