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28
<br />The Share of Middle -Income Renters with Cost Burdens Is Growing Rapidly
<br />Share of Households (Percent
<br />90
<br />00
<br />70
<br />60
<br />50
<br />40
<br />30
<br />20
<br />10
<br />0
<br />2001 2606 2011 2016 2001 2006 2011 2016 2001 2006 2011 2016 2001 2006 2011 2016 2001 2006 2011 2616
<br />Under $15,000 $15,000-29,999 $30,000-44,999 $45,000-74,999 $75,000 and Over
<br />® Severely Cost -burdened Eil Moderately Cost -Burdened
<br />Notes:Household Inconessore incanstant20113 dollars, ad)ustod torindadon usingthii UforAllitems , Modoataly (severely) cost -burdened households pay30-66%(more than 50%) of incomefor housing. Householdswith zeroer
<br />negative income are assumed to have severe burdens, while households paying target remain assumed to hewithout trusts.
<br />SourceJCHS tehulatians of US Census Bureau, American Community Surveys.
<br />Rural areas tend to have lower, but still sizable, shares of cost -bun
<br />dened renters (40 percent). Even so, more than 46 percent of rural
<br />renters in California, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York are
<br />housing cost burdened. These states are largely urbanized, suggesting
<br />that high rents in metropolitan areas extend into rural areas. Cost -
<br />burdened households in rural areas are often more dispersed than in
<br />metro areas, making it difficult to target effective policy interventions.
<br />UNIVERSALITY OF COST BURDENS
<br />Renters in many demographic groups are cost burdened, but low-
<br />income households are the most likely to pay a disproportionate
<br />share of their incomes for housing. In 2016, 83 percent of renter
<br />households with incomes below $15,000 had cost burdens, includ-
<br />ing 72 percent with severe burdens. Some 77 percent of renters
<br />earning between $15,000 and $30,000 were also cost burdened. By
<br />comparison, only 6 percent of renters making at least $75,000 were
<br />cost burdened in 2016.
<br />Over the past 15 years, more than half of the growth in the number
<br />of cost -burdened renters has been among renters earning under
<br />$30,000. However, the largest increases in cost -burdened shares have
<br />been among moderate -income households. From 2001 to 2016, the
<br />number of cost -burdened renters earning $30,000-45,000 rose by 1.3
<br />million, bringing the share for this income group from 37 percent to 50
<br />percent (Figure 28). Similarly, the addition of 1.1 million cost -burdened
<br />households with incomes of $45,000-75,000 nearly doubled the share
<br />in this group from 12 percent to 23 percent.
<br />Being fully employed is no panacea. In 2016, some 56 percent of rent-
<br />ers with jobs in personal care and service occupations were hous-
<br />ing cost burdened (Online Figure 5). Indeed, more than half of renters
<br />working in food preparation and service, building and grounds
<br />maintenance, and healthcare support—industries with many low-
<br />wage jobshadcost burdens. Conversely, less than 20 percent of
<br />renters in higher -paying fields such as computer science, mathemat-
<br />ics, architecture, engineering, and oil extraction, were housing cost
<br />burdened in 2016.
<br />In addition to low income, several household characteristics—includ-
<br />ing race/ethnicity, age, household composition, and disability status—
<br />are associated with costburdens. For example, 55 percent of black and
<br />54 percent of Hispanic renters were housing cost burdened in 2016, an
<br />increase of about 7 percentage points for both groups in 2001-2016.
<br />By comparison, 43 percent of white renters and 47 percent of Asian
<br />and other minority renters were cost burdened, up 5-6 percent over
<br />this period.
<br />In addition, cost burdens are common among households age 65 and
<br />over, as well as among those under age 25. As of 2016, 54 percent of
<br />older renters had cost burdens, along with 60 percent of younger
<br />renters. Many members of these age groups are out of the workforce
<br />or have low wages, either because of retirement and/or disability or
<br />because they are still students.
<br />Household composition also makes a difference. Married or partnered
<br />households with more than one potential earner are less frequently
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