Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

46 Percent of DC Area Renters are Burdened with Housing Costs

  • June 29th 2015

by Tianna Mañón

46 Percent of DC Area Renters are Burdened with Housing Costs: Figure 1
Click to enlarge.

Almost half of DC area renters are burdened by housing costs, according to a study published by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The report defines “burdened” as residents who pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent.

Overall, 368,900, or 46 percent, of area renters are burdened, according to the findings. 22 percent are considered severely burdened, which means that they pay over 50 percent of their income in rent.

Understandably, lower-income households are most likely to be burdened by housing costs. 81 percent of residents who make $15,000 and under are burdened; 85 percent of residents who make between $15,000 and $29,999 are burdened, a small uptick. The percentage of burdened homes for income level didn’t drop below 75 percent until the household income reached $45,000/year. Just under half of residents who made between $45,000 and $74,999 are burdened. Residents who made $75,000 and above saw the lowest percentage of burden- just nine percent.

The cost of housing in the area is a hot topic and various public officials and advocacy agencies said they are seeking strategies to make housing more affordable.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/46_percent_of_area_renters_are_burdened_with_housing_costs/10059.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse