The 2024 American Community Survey reported that median selected monthly owner costs for households without a mortgage equaled 11.4% of household income.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition calculated a 2026 national Housing Wage of $34.73 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental at HUD Fair Market Rent, assuming a full-time worker spends no more than 30% of income on housing. The corr
The U.S. homeownership rate is calculated as owner-occupied households divided by all occupied households. It is a household measure, not the percentage of individual adults who personally own real estate.
From 2001 to 2024, renter incomes rose 9% after inflation while rents rose 30%, according to the housing research compiled by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies using Census data.
The National Association of REALTORS® reported a national median price of $434,900 for an existing single-family home in the second quarter of 2026, 1.5% higher than one year earlier.
A Related Measure
NAR’s separate monthly series for all
HUD’s archived National Association of REALTORS® housing-affordability table shows that in 1970 the median existing-home price was $23,000, median family income was $9,867, and the income required to qualify for the median home was $6,697.
HUD’s archived National Association of REALTORS® housing-affordability table shows that in 1980 the median existing-home price was $62,200, median family income was $21,023, and the income required to qualify was $26,328. The qualifying-inc
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.
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, using U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data, estimated that 21.6 million U.S. households were severely housing-cost burdened in 2024. That was 16% of all households, meaning they spent
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reported that from 2014 to 2024 the number of U.S. rental units renting for less than $1,400 per month fell by 9.3 million. Over the same period, the number renting for $1,400 or more increased by
