Nearly half of US renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs
Nearly half of US renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs
Nearly half of all renter households in the US were cost-burdened in 2023, meaning they paid more than 30% of their income towards housing costs, according to new government data.
That's all?
I wonder if there's a significant difference if this is measured by household or by individual.
30% is insanely low. If I only paid 30% for housing I could retire in my 40s.
30% is widely considered to be the most you should pay for a living space in order to live a sustainable lifestyle and retire comfortably. It even says in the article that they consider anyone that has to pay more than that to be "cost burdened".
It usually breaks down somewhere around 30% on housing, 20% on necessary bills, 30% on wants / unnecessary bills, and 20% on retirement investments / savings.
The fact that nearly half of renters cannot do that is the problem that they are trying to highlight, but it doesn't offer much of a solution. These people will not be able to retire without public assistance (if they can at all), and will likely run into serious struggles long before then.
33% gang over here