2017-2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Now Available

DEC. 8, 2022 — Over 40% (19 million) of renter households in the country spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs during the 2017-2021 period, according to new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Households spending more than 30% on housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and other fees, are considered housing cost burdens according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of affordable housing.

At the county level, 239 or 7.6% of the nation’s 3,143 counties had a median housing cost ratio for renters above 30%. More than half of households with income and paying rent faced housing cost burdens in these counties. Nearly a third of all renters in the nation lived in these counties. In 18 counties, homeowners with a mortgage had a median housing cost ratio above that of renters. That means the median household with a mortgage had higher financial burden than the median household that paid rent in these counties. The hardship caused by the rise in housing costs persisted despite increases in median household income.

“We’ve heard for a while now that incomes were not keeping up with the increased cost of housing,” said Molly Cromwell, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Housing Statistics Branch. “With the most recent data, we can see just how many households were burdened by the cost of their housing.”

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Housing Costs a Big Burden on Renters in Largest U.S. Counties

Over 19 million U.S. renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2021, according to data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-year estimates released today.

Households are considered cost burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage and other housing needs.

The burden was especially high in some of the nation’s largest counties where housing is more expensive or in areas where incomes are low.

The ACS collects a variety of housing cost information for renters (monthly rent and utility bills) and for homeowners (mortgage principal and interest, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, utilities, mobile home costs, second mortgage payments and condominium fees if applicable).

U.S. Poverty Rates Differ by Age and County

Poverty rates for children (under age 18) in U.S. counties are wide-ranging, from less than 1.0% to 72.7%, according to the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates released today.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017-2021 5-year ACS differs from the 1-year estimates released in September because it pools five consecutive years of 1-year estimates. This allows us to estimate poverty in geographies with smaller populations, including all 3,143 counties in the United States.

This article focuses on the poverty rates of the nation’s youngest and oldest age groups at the county level. It also analyzes the change in rates from the 2012-2016 ACS to the subsequent period of 2017-2021.

According to the new estimates, the national child poverty rate declined from 21.2% in the 2012-2016 period to 17.0% in the 2017-2021 period. But it was still 4.4 percentage points higher than the ACS national overall poverty rate of 12.6% during the same period.

Mapping Housing Cost Ratios in the U.S.

During the 2017-2021 period, the national median cost ratio for renter-occupied units was 29.8%. What percentage of income is spent on housing in your county? Find out using the 2017-2021 ACS 5-year estimates and our new data visualization.

About the Census Bureau

We serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. The Census Bureau is the federal government's largest statistical agency. As the world’s premier statistical agency, we are dedicated to making our nation a better place. Policy-makers, businesses, and the public use our data to make informed decisions.

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