The number of renter households across the country that are considered cost-burdened, or requiring more than 30% of the renter’s income for rent – continues to increase, and incentives aren't doing enough to help. In fact, nearly half of all renter households are cost-burdened after the number grew by 1.8% between 2022 and 2023, according to a Zillow analysis. Even more alarmingly, nearly one-quarter of renters spent at least half of their income on rent in 2023.
Zillow estimates that homelessness rises faster when the typical rent exceeds 32% of median income in a given market. That is currently true in seven of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, including Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Tampa, Riverside, San Diego, and Boston.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
