Nearly one-third of all American households are cost-burdened, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs.
And while the number of Americans living this way has decreased following the Great Recession (by 6 percentage points), it is likely to increase again as the country is facing unprecedented times amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
To determine the states with the most cost-burdened household, Construction Coverage looked recent U.S. Census Bureau data and found that 37% of New Jersey households are cost-burdened, compared to the national rate of 31%. North Dakota has the lowest share of households that are cost-burdened at 22%.
Out of all U.S. states, New Jersey has the 3rd highest percentage of cost-burdened households, followed only by California (40.5%) and New York (37.5%).
Here’s a summary of New Jersey’s data:
- Share of all households that are cost-burdened: 37%;
- Share of owner households that are cost-burdened: 30.4%;
- Share of renter households that are cost-burdened: 48.6%;
- Median monthly housing costs: $1,588;
- Median household income: $81,740.
Here’s statistics for the entire United States:
- Share of all households that are cost-burdened: 31%;
- Share of owner households that are cost-burdened: 22.3%;
- Share of renter households that are cost-burdened: 46.1%;
- Median monthly housing costs: $1,082;
- Median household income: $61,937.
To improve relevance, only cities with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis. Additionally, cities were grouped into small (100,000-150,000), mid-sized (150,000-350,000) and large (350,000+) city cohorts.
Here are the top New Jersey cities with the most cost-burdened households:
- Elizabeth (small), 51.5% cost-burdened;
- Paterson (small), 47.6%;
- Newark (mid-size), 53.6%.
For more information and methodology, click here.
