The nation's poorest renters remain heavily rent burdened, spending vastly more of their income on shelter than wealthier tenants. However, new analysis from Social Explorer reveals that extremely rent burdened low-income households grew more slowly during the COVID-19 pandemic than expected.
Understanding Rent Burdened Status
Households are considered rent burdened when they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Census Bureau found that nearly 90 percent of renters with incomes below $20,000 were rent burdened in 2023, only slightly higher than the 89 percent who reported being rent burdened in 2020.
Wealthy Renters More Affected by Rising Costs
Among Americans earning more than $75,000, the percentage of rent burdened households rose significantly. In 2023, 12.3 percent of high-income renters were rent burdened, representing a substantial jump from 2020 when only 7.6 percent of the wealthiest tenants reported being rent burdened. The data comes from the 2019-23 American Community Survey.
Why COVID Stimulus Protected Rent Burdened Low-Income Families
The disparity between very poor and wealthier rent burdened households likely stems from stimulus payments distributed during the pandemic. Three payments totaling $3,200 per household, plus an additional $2,500 per child, were issued between March 2020 and March 2021.
For families making less than $20,000 annually, these stimulus payments could have represented more than 25 percent of their income, significantly reducing their rent burden. Given the average U.S. family size of 3.15 people, a $5,700 payment provided proportionally greater relief to low-income rent burdened households than to those earning above $75,000.
Income Distribution Context
The Census Bureau's income segments show that only 14.7 million households (11.6 percent of the U.S. total) earned less than $20,000 in 2023, while 66.3 million households (slightly more than half) made over $75,000. The median household income in 2023 was $78,538, according to the 2019-23 American Community Survey.
Top Rental Markets: Rent Burdened Household Trends
The nation's five largest rental markets by county showed minimal change in the percentage of rent burdened poor households, though the total number of low-income renters decreased:
Low-Income Rent Burdened Households (earning under $20,000):
- Los Angeles County: 92.5% rent burdened (-0.3%)
- Cook County, Illinois: 89.8% rent burdened (+1.6%)
- Harris County, Texas: 95.6% rent burdened (+0.7%)
- Kings County, New York: 88.8% rent burdened (no change)
- Maricopa County, Arizona: 94% rent burdened (-0.4%)
The percentage of rent-burdened households on the other end of the economic spectrum – those reporting income of more than $75,000 who spent more than 30 percent of their wages on housing – rose significantly more in the bigger rental markets:
High-Income Rent Burdened Households (earning over $75,000):
- Los Angeles County: 22.4% rent burdened (+7.4%)
- Cook County, Illinois: 8.7% rent burdened (+3.6%)
- Harris County, Texas: 7.6% rent burdened (+4%)
- Kings County, New York: 16.8% rent burdened (+5%)
- Maricopa County, Arizona: 11.3% rent burdened (+7.2%)
Notable Changes in Rent Burdened Populations
Among the top 100 rental markets for households earning less than $20,000 annually, 72 reported a higher percentage of rent burdened residents in 2023. Hennepin County, Minnesota saw the largest increase, with rent burdened poor households rising 3.9 percent to 85.9 percent. The largest decline occurred in Fairfax County, Virginia, where rent burdened low-income households fell 2.8 percent to 13.6 percent.
For higher earners, all 100 top rental markets reported increases in rent burdened households. Riverside County, California experienced the largest jump, with 22.5 percent of residents earning over $75,000 becoming rent burdened—a 10.9 percent increase from 2020. Marion County, Indiana saw the smallest increase at 1.2 percent, bringing rent burdened affluent households to 2.8 percent.
Explore Rent Burdened Data Yourself
Social Explorer's intuitive community analysis software provides tools for visualizing how rent burdened households change over time, making data available in visual swipe maps and tabular formats. To start conducting your own analysis using this award-winning application, sign up for a free trial.