Average U.S. rent burden reached 30 percent for the first time ever at the end of 2022, according to a recent analysis.
The national average rent-to-income (RTI) in the final quarter of 2024 rose 1.5% from year-ago and 0.2% from Q3, according to recent analysis by Moody’s. It’s the first time RTI has reached 30% since Moddy’s began tracking the data more than 20 years ago.
An online article, linked below, shares more details from the report, including context of how rent-to-income trends break down at the regional level and how they shifted during the pandemic.
According to the analysis, Nevada (+4.9%), Florida (+4.8%), Alabama (+4.2%), South Carolina (+4.2%), Arizona (+4.1%), and New Mexico (4.0%) have experienced the highest increase in the state’s average rent burden over the past three years, due mostly to rental prices increases outpacing household income growth.
A few states have achieved recent relief from rent burden, however. RTI dropped in Maryland (-0.62%), Oklahoma (-0.49%), Arkansas (-0.16%), Minnesota (-0.08%), and Utah (-0.02%) over the course of 2022. In Q4, Georgia (-1.7%) and Maryland (-1.2%) both recorded average rent decline at the state level.
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association