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Data analyzed by

State Health Compare

Percent of cost-burdened rental households

Measure Overview

Millions of Americans struggle to pay rent as U.S. housing costs and the cost of living continues to rise. This cost burden limits the amount of money that individuals can spend on other necessities, such as groceries, transportation, child care, and health care services. Unaffordable rent prices and housing instability can also cause psychological and emotional distress in individuals who must seek more affordable alternative housing, whether by choice or due to eviction. 

Understanding what populations are at increased risk of experiencing unaffordable rent can improve efforts to assist renters in securing and maintaining housing, which impacts overall health and wellbeing. This State Health Compare measure defines unaffordable rent as spending 30% or more of household monthly income on rent. 

Housing Affordability—Unaffordable Rents by State: Breakdowns and Data Source


State Health Compare provides annual, state-level estimates on unaffordable rents based on data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). 

Five breakdowns are available for this measure: Disability Status, Household Income Categories, Medicaid Enrollment, Metropolitan Status, and Race (White or Non-White).

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snapshot of infographic found in blog

Housing Affordability in the United States: Exploring Unaffordable Rent in 2024 Using State Health Compare (Plus Accompanying Infographics)

 

In this blog, SHADAC researchers explore and analyze the impact of unaffordable rent in the United States by state, disability status, income level, and more using SHADAC’s data tool, State Health Compare. We also examine national trends from the last five years and take a look at some differences by state.



unaffordable rents in the US bar chart; medicaid enrolled rate 58.9%; no medicaid, 42.5%

Connecting Housing and Health: Unaffordable Rent in the U.S. in 2023 (SHC Data Highlight)

Housing affordability is a key social determinant of health. Housing and health are connected – in this blog, we take a look at housing affordability in the U.S. by state and subpopulation.