The U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2014 American Community Survey (ACS) on September 17. The data show that 20.7 million U.S. renter households are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. This number represents slightly more than half of all renter households.
The percentage of cost-burdened renter households declines with income. Eighty-nine percent of renter households with annual income of less than $20,000 and 75% of those with annual income between $20,000 and $34,999 are cost burdened. Only 6% of renter households with annual income of $75,000 or more are cost burdened.
The ACS collects U.S. demographic, housing, economic, and commuting data on an annual basis. Approximately 3.5 million households are selected annually from every county in the nation to complete the survey. Annual survey results are available at the state, county, and local levels for jurisdictions with at least 65,000 residents.
More facts from the 2014 ACS are available from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkley at http://bit.ly/1LpXuft
The 2014 ACS is available on American FactFinder at: http://1.usa.gov/1vEz1wK