The Fact
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, using U.S. Census Bureau data, reported that 49% of renter households with annual incomes from $45,000 to $74,999 were housing-cost burdened in 2024, meaning they spent more than 30% of income on rent and utilities.
What This Means
Housing-cost burden was not limited to the lowest-income renters. In 2024, nearly half of renters in this middle-income band crossed the conventional 30% burden threshold.
Sources
- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, America’s Rental Housing 2026 and 2026 housing-affordability updates based on U.S. Census Bureau ACS data.