The Fact
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, using U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data, estimated that 43.5 million U.S. households were housing-cost burdened in 2024. That was 33% of all households, or about one in three.
What This Means
About one out of every three households in America spent more than 30% of its income on housing in 2024. Thirty percent is the standard line for what a household can comfortably afford, so a third of the country was over it.
Sources
- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Housing Unaffordability Soared to New Highs in 2024, based on U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data.