HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-18-24 Public Comment - N. Schultz - Rent eats up a greater share of tenants' income in most states States Newsroom /
Rent eats up a greater share of tenants' income in most states (missoulacurrent.com)
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Tim Henderson 9-17-2024
(Stateline) There were 21 states where a majority of tenant households spent
I30% or more of their incomes on rent and utilities last year, compared with just CO\ < <
seven states in 2019.
Nationwide, about 22 million renters are shouldering that percentage. Anyone
paying more than 30% is considered "cost burdened," according to the U.S. ;
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and may struggle to pay for
other necessities, such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
In Montana, 461hof renter households are p�y_ing more than 30% of income on
housing - from 44% in 2019.
Three presidential swing states had among the biggest increases in the share of
renters who spent that much on housing: Arizona (to 54% from 46.5%), Nevada
(to 57.4% from 51.1%) and Georgia (to 53.7% from 48.4%). The numbers are
based on a Stateline analysis of merican Community Sl irvey data released
today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida and Maine also saw large jumps.
In Arizona, low wages, a housing shortage, and short-term rental and vacation
homes are eating away at the stock of affordable housing for renters, according
to Alison Cook-Davis, associate director for research at Arizona State
University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy.
"You've got people across the state kind of pulling their hair out, saying `I thought
Arizona was supposed to be the affordable state,"' Cook-Davis said.
'U , Rents in Arizona have shot up 40% to 60% in the last two years, she said. And
� the state's eviction filings spiked 43% to 97,000 between 2022 and 2023, she
\ ,!� said.
In places such as Arizona and Nevada where the housing bubble of the late
2000s left vacant houses, the construction of apartments and other homes has
not caught up with population increases, Cook-Davis added.
A University of Nevada, Las Vegas, data bri( reported in May that the Las
Vegas area had the highest percentage of cost-burdened renters in the state, at, ,
1
58.3%, more even than the New York City metro area (52.6%) or San Francisco
metro area (48.9%).
Today's newly released census figures showed that in addition to Arizona,
Nevada and Georgia, the states with the highest jumps in the share of cost-
burdened renters were Florida, which increased to 61.7% from 55.9%, and
Maine, at 49.1% from 44%.
That jump left Florida as the state with the highest rate of cost-burdened renters.
It was followed by Nevada (57.4%), Hawaii (56.7%), Louisiana (56.2%) and
California (56.1%).
"Florida isn't the deal it used to be," said Christopher McCarty, director of the
University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research. "Florida still
has disproportionately lower-paying jobs compared to other states, and rents are
increasing compared to other states as well."
The states with the lowest rates of cost-burdened renters as of 2023 were North
Dakota (37%), Wyoming (41.2%), South Dakota (41.3%), Kansas (43.5%) and
Nebraska (44%).
The share of cost-burdened renters increased since 2019 in every state except
Vermont (down to 47.8% from 54%), Wyoming (down to 41.2% from 44%), North
Dakota (down to 37% from 38%) and Rhode Island (down to 48.1% from 49%).
There's hope for the future in Arizona and other states with increased home
construction, Cook-Davis said.
"If you keep building, eventually this will sort itself out. But that could take years.
It's a slow process," she said.