More than one in four (26%) working renter households are severely housing cost burdened --spending more than half of their income on housing-- according to a May 2013 report by the National Housing Conference’s Center for Housing Policy. Housing Landscape 2013 addresses changes in cost burden for working households, defined as households with members working an average of 20 hours per week and earning no more than 120% of the area median income (AMI). Sixty percent of all renter households and roughly 33% of all owner households fit these criteria. From 2008 to 2011, severe housing cost burden rose two percentage points for working households overall (both renter and owner households), but renters have fared worse than their homeowner counterparts. Over the three year period, renters saw a 3.6 percentage point increase in households facing severe cost burden while the share of owner working households facing severe cost burden remained relatively steady. The report looks at both housing costs and median income to determine cost burden. Housing costs for renters increased 6% while their median income fell more than 3% between 2008 and 2010. Their median income rose by 1% from 2010 to 2011 but the authors caution against viewing this as a lasting change. Owner working households saw rising rates of cost burden between 2008 and 2010 but then a modest reduction from 2010 to 2011, bringing severe cost burden rates back down to 2008 levels (21%). Despite a drop in median income, the report suggests that lower housing costs kept severe housing cost burden lower for owners. The report also highlights the cost burdens faced by lower income working households. Eight out of ten extremely low income (households with income at or below 30% AMI) working households were severely cost burdened in 2011. This rate drops as income rises but even those at higher income levels are cost burdened: 41% of those earning 31-50% AMI and 15% of those earning 51-80% AMI were severely cost burdened in 2011. There were ten states where at least one in four working households were severely cost burdened and an additional 19 states where 20% to 25% were severely cost burdened in 2011. Metro areas with the highest share of severely cost burdened working households in 2011 included Miami (41%), Los Angeles (39%), New York (35%), Orlando (35%), and San Diego (34%); whereas the areas with the lowest shares included Pittsburgh (14%), Minneapolis (17%), Louisville (17%), Raleigh (17%), and Cincinnati (18%). Rates of severe housing cost burden rose between 2009 and 2011 significantly in Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and, between 2010 and 2011, in Maine, New York, and West Virginia, while falling in South Dakota. The share of working households facing severe cost burdens also rose in eighteen of the largest 50 metro areas between 2008 and 2010. Although shares were still high, Washington, D.C. and San Bernardino, CA were the only metro areas to see a decrease in the percentage of working households facing severe cost burden. Rates leveled off in most areas between 2010 and 2011 but increased in New York and Baltimore. The report notes that severe housing cost burden rates may be even higher for all households earning less than 120% AMI. The report uses data from the 2011 American Community Survey but the authors limit their analysis to working households, not households that are unemployed or underemployed (working less than 20 hours per week). The report does note that if included, 28% of all households with incomes less than 120% AMI were severely cost burdened in 2011. The report also warns that the cost burden trends for working households are driven partly by the drop in the number of working households. ACS data show that while there were 2.7 million fewer working households in 2011 than in 2008, there were an additional 2.8 million low and moderate income households who were not working or were underemployed. Access the report at: http://bit.ly/YoYXfm