NEW STUDY: 25% of Providence-Metro Renters Spend More Than 50% of Income on Rent

NEW STUDY: 25% of Providence-Metro Renters Spend More Than 50% of Income on Rent

“As affordability has eroded, more renters than ever are struggling with housing costs,” says a news report.

Renters in the Providence metro area are hard hit.

“Broadly accepted financial wisdom dictates that a household should spend no more than 30%of its gross monthly income on housing costs. This rule of thumb is cited broadly – from personal finance blogs to government agencies,” states ApartmentList in its new study.

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"Unfortunately, the 30% threshold has proven elusive for a striking share of American renters—more than half spend above that level, qualifying them as 'cost-burdened.' More than one in four renter households spend over 50% of their income on rent, making them 'severely cost-burdened,'" said the study.

 

The National Outlook:

This cost burden rate has been trending up steadily since 2019, as growth in rents has outpaced growth in incomes. In total, today there are over 22 million rent-burden households across the United States, a new record. 

 

The Local Outlook:

Broadly speaking, rent burden is geographically concentrated in two types of markets: coastal markets with sky-high rents, and sun belt markets where rents have grown rapidly over the past five years. Cost-burden rates have worsened since 2019 in 49 of the nation’s 50 largest metros.

In Providence metro specifically, 50% of renter households spend at least 30% of their income on rent, and 26% spend more than half.