Affordability Challenges and the Composition of Middle-Income Renters – Harvard JCHS

“In 2022, 14.4 million renter households (about one-third of all renters) earned between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). These middle-income households have faced rapidly worsening affordability, though the extent of their challenges pales in comparison to that of lower-income households…”

“Many state and local middle-income housing programs were created specifically to address the affordability challenges of households in the workforce. However, these programs—which almost universally target households based on their area median income—would bypass the large majority of cost-burdened households in the workforce who have lower incomes. Indeed, among the 9.8 million renters working full time with cost burdens, the number of lower-income renter households with burdens (5.8 million) far exceeded the number of middle-income renter households with burdens (3.6 million).“

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