Current:Home > Stocks18 million Americans are house poor, new study shows-InfoLens
18 million Americans are house poor, new study shows
View Date:2024-12-23 16:11:21
More than 18 million Americans are living in homes that stretch their budgets far beyond what's considered financially healthy.
That's the biggest takeaway from a LendingTree study released this week that found that 18.3 million homeowners are what the housing industry calls cost-burdened, or "house poor." That refers to homeowners who pay more than 30% of their monthly income on housing, including the mortgage, utilities and other costs. Anyone who spends more than half of their monthly income on housing is considered severely cost-burdened.
High cost-of-living states California, Hawaii and New York have the largest share of house poor residents, while West Virginia, Indiana and Arkansas have the fewest, LendingTree said.
To be sure, homeowners who spend more than 30% of their income on housing aren't necessarily struggling to make ends meet, according to Jacob Channel, LendingTree senior economist, noting that some people can spend more than 30% of their income on housing and remain comfortable financially.
But for many Americans, keeping housing costs at a manageable level is difficult, particularly in an economy where inflation is still high, home prices have reached record highs and mortgage rates are hovering around 7%. The median U.S. home price hit an all-time high this month of $394,000, up 4.4% from a year ago, according to Redfin.
LendingTree based its study on 2022 U.S. Census data on how much owner-occupied households spent on housing. The study suggests that the number of house-poor homeowners is falling. About 19 million homeowners were house poor or worse in 2023, according to a Harvard University estimate.
Here is a breakdown of the states with the highest concentration of cost-burdened homes, according to LendingTree.
California
- 2.2 million house poor
- 1 million severely housing cost-burdened
Hawaii
- 88,000 house poor
- 39,000 severely housing cost-burdened
New York
- 1.1 million house poor
- 550,000 severely housing cost-burdened
Here's a breakdown of the states with the lowest concentration of cost-burdened homes, according to LendingTree.
West Virginia
- 73,000 house poor
- 36,000 severely housing cost-burdened
Indiana
- 314,000 house poor
- 132,000 severely housing cost-burdened
Arkansas
- 132,000 house poor
- 60,000 severely housing cost-burdened
- In:
- Home Prices
- Mortgage Rates
- Home Sales
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.
TwitterveryGood! (95611)
Related
- See Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's Winning NFL Outing With Kids Zuma and Apollo
- Biden administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in its dispute with Texas over border land
- Influencer Mila De Jesus Dead at 35 Just 3 Months After Wedding
- The Supreme Court takes up major challenges to the power of federal regulators
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- Eagles center Jason Kelce intends to retire after 13 NFL seasons, AP sources say
- RHOSLC's Meredith Marks Shares Her Theory on How Jen Shah Gave Heather Gay a Black Eye
- Mike Tomlin plans to return to Steelers for 18th season as head coach, per report
- Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
- Heavy snowfall and freezing rain cause flight, train cancellations across Germany
Ranking
- Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
- Linton Quadros - Founder of EIF Business School
- Harvey Weinstein, MSG exec James Dolan sued for sexual assault by former massage therapist
- Apple plans to remove sensor from some watch models depending on how a court rules in patent dispute
- Stop smartphone distractions by creating a focus mode: Video tutorial
- Russia’s intense attacks on Ukraine has sharply increased civilian casualties in December, UN says
- The Leap from Quantitative Trading to Artificial Intelligence
- Google layoffs continue as tech company eliminates hundreds of jobs in ad sales team
Recommendation
-
Teachers in 3 Massachusetts communities continue strike over pay, paid parental leave
-
Linton Quadros's Core Business Map: EIF Business School
-
Kobe the husky dog digs a hole and saves a neighborhood from a gas leak catastrophe
-
US national security adviser says stopping Houthi Red Sea attacks is an ‘all hands on deck’ problem
-
MLS playoff teams set: Road to MLS Cup continues with conference semifinals
-
Britain’s unexpected inflation increase in December is unlikely to worry the Bank of England
-
Italy’s regulations on charities keep migrant rescue ships from the Mediterranean
-
Biden to meet with congressional leaders on national security package