Half Of US Renters Are Paying More Than 30% In Rent—Particularly In These Cities

If renters are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, they’re considered housing-cost-burdened—which usually leads to an array of financial struggles, including difficulty affording food, utilities and other basic necessities.

Roughly half of US renters are cost-burdened, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates. In a recent study, Abodo ranked the top 19 markets with the most cost-burdened renters, and surprisingly San Francisco did not make the cut.

“As the report states, it was a little surprising to find that some of the major cities aren’t the most cost-burdened, like San Francisco, Chicago and Houston,” Abodo’s Sam Radbil tells Bisnow. “What we found is that in those cities people in most cases are earning a lot more. Some of these cities [on the list] are places that have recently become more sensitive and maybe the job market is competitive and not paying what people expect.”

Below are the top 10 cost-burdened cities in the country, according to ABODO. You'll note that most of these expensive housing markets are in California. 

1) Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Cost-Burdened Renters: 63.89%

Median Income: $50,441

2) Urban Honolulu, HI

Cost-Burdened Renters: 59.24%

Median Income: $77,273

3) Deltona-Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL

Cost-Burdened Renters: 58.8%

Median Income: $43,284

4) Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 58.69%

Median Income: $56,087

5) Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 58.59%

Median Income: $62,544

6) Springfield, MA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 57.88%

Median Income: $53,393

7) Fresno, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 57.75%

Median Income: $46,949

8) Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 57.5%

Median Income: $80,032

9) Stockton–Lodi, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 56.84%

Median Income: $53,705

10) San Diego–Carlsbad, CA

Cost-Burdened Renters: 56.75%

Median Income: $67,320