Growth in median rents has outpaced growth in median renter income since 2001 in nearly every state, as we explain in our updated state rental assistance fact sheets. About 23 million low-income renters pay more than half of their income for housing, partly due to this gap between rental costs and income....
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Census: Income-Rent Gap Grew in 2018
September 27, 2019
The gap between median renter income and median rent widened in 2018, new Census data show, with median rent rising 2.1 percent in inflation-adjusted terms but median renter household income rising just 1.6 percent, to $40,500. Today’s data underscore the continued need for additional federal rental assistance.
The findings...
Federal Rental Assistance Helps Families, Seniors, People With Disabilities in Every State
May 9, 2019
Nearly 70 percent of people receiving federal rental assistance are children, seniors, or people with disabilities.
Housing Vouchers Can Do More to Move Families Into High-Opportunity Neighborhoods
January 4, 2019
As the nation’s largest federal rental assistance program, Housing Choice Vouchers have the unique potential to help low-income families move to neighborhoods with low poverty, low crime, and good schools. Yet families using vouchers in most of the 50 largest metropolitan areas live in less...
Census: Renters’ Incomes Still Lagging Behind Housing Costs
September 13, 2018
Renters’ incomes still lag far behind housing costs, the latest Census data show. In 2017, the typical renter household earned $38,900, the same as 16 years ago after adjusting for inflation. Median housing costs rose 10.7 percent in inflation-adjusted terms over that period. (See graph.)...
Trump Plan to Raise Minimum Rents Would Put Nearly a Million Children at Risk of Homelessness
April 27, 2018
Update, May 11, 2018: we’ve updated some of the figures in the text and chart.
Under President Trump’s proposal to raise rents by up to $1,800 a year on the poorest households receiving federal rental assistance — virtually all of which have annual incomes of less than $7,000 — roughly 1.7...
Trump Plan to Raise Minimum Rents Would Put Nearly a Million Children at Risk of Homelessness
March 8, 2018
Update, April 27: For an updated post reflecting the Administration’s latest proposal, see https://www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-plan-to-raise-minimum-rents-would-put-nearly-a-million-children-at-risk-of-homelessness-0.
Under President Trump’s proposal...
GOP Tax Bill Threatens Housing Assistance, Just as Many Workers Struggle to Pay Rent
December 15, 2017
The pending Republican tax bill threatens to deeply undermine programs that help low-income Americans keep a roof over their heads, just as a new report shows that the number of struggling renters will likely remain high in the coming years. Nearly a third of new jobs in the coming decade will be low-wage jobs, which typically...
Federal Rental Assistance Is Critical to All Types of Communities
November 9, 2017
Federal rental assistance plays a vital role in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike, our new analysis shows, helping 10 million people in over 5 million low-...
Gap Between Federal Rental Assistance and Need Is Growing
August 16, 2017
The number of very low-income households with serious housing problems rose in 2015 despite an improving economy, a new Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report finds. Over 8 million households had “worst-case housing needs” in 2015, meaning they are renters with incomes below half the local...
