Extremely low-income households (<30% AMI)
Due to market pressures and the general scarcity of rent-regulated housing, the majority of ELI households are forced to rent at prices that are unaffordable for them, meaning they spend more than one third of their income on housing costs. This income group is the most acutely affected by the housing shortage with all but three states facing a severe shortage on the aggregate level, and even on the county level, problems are not limited to metro areas but are being felt even in rural communities.
2023–2024 differences: shortage worsened by 0.5 million units
4.2 M
total shortage of units
48 states
facing a severe shortage
78%
of households rent-burdened
Very low-income households (31–50% AMI)
Those earning between 31–50% AMI are facing similar difficulties to the ELI income group: there aren’t enough available units for them to rent at lower prices so they eventually take up units from the higher-rent stock. On an aggregate national level, a total 18% of the VLI group are rent-burdened, however, the real number is higher. Given the acute shortage within the ELI group, a large portion of units that would be adequately priced for the VLI group will actually go to the ELI group, starting a snowball effect where both groups are forced to pay rent above the price range deemed affordable to them.
2023–2024 differences: both supply & demand dropped, but total shortage of units remained constant at 0.9 million units.
0.9 M
total shortage of units
12 states
facing a severe shortage
20 states
moderate shortage
72%
of households rent-burdened
Low-income households (51–80% AMI)
While on an aggregate national level there doesn’t seem to be any shortage, once we break it down to the county-level data, it becomes clear that the shortage is still severe in the metro areas and the more populous counties where there’s also added pressure from both the two lower income groups (ELI & VLI) that are facing hardships to find adequately priced rental units, as well from the middle- & upper-income groups to take up available units from the existing supply. Although the Census data shows us a whopping five million units of surplus nationally, the bulk of these surplus units are located in areas where population density is already low or where a population flight is happening.
2023–2024 differences: surplus remained but by 100,000 less units.
5.0 M
surplus of available units
Middle- & upper income households (>80% AMI)
The middle and upper income households are those that make between 81-120% and over 120% of the Area Median Income, respectively. We have combined these income groups in the map above. Although in reality there isn’t a shortage for these groups owing to their high purchasing power, our data shows that these households will struggle to find housing that is ‘affordable’ (where rent is less than 30% of their income) in the highly-dense metropolitan areas, where most of the economic opportunities are concentrated.
2023–2024 differences: still a surplus but by 300,000 less units.
0.1 M
surplus of available units
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