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    Chapter 5.4 · The first of the month

    Renting, affordability and eviction

    45.6% of renter households with a computed burden spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2018 to 2022, against 20.8% of owner households, a gap detectable only among low-income households.

    Affiliation
    NYU Stern
    Published

    Of the renter households in the states and DC whose housing cost burden HUD computes, 45.6%45.6% percent of renter households with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandratio of sums over tracts: households with the burden over households whose burden HUD computes, pooled over the tracts of the 50 states and DC; interval from a bootstrap over counties (replicates and seed in the methods note). The share carries no margin of error of its own: HUD rounds every cell independently; the count includes the households with a severe burdenInterval95% CI 44.7% to 46.5%n84,410 tractsWeightsnone (pooled household counts)Populationrenter households in the tracts of the 50 states and DC with a computed burdenPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability spent more than 30%30% percent of household incomeEstimandHUD's line for a housing cost burden: housing costs above this share of household incomeWeightsnone (definition)Populationhouseholds in the HUD CHAS tabulationPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability of their income on housing in 2018 to 2022. Of owner households, 20.8%20.8% percent of owner households with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandratio of sums over tracts: households with the burden over households whose burden HUD computes, pooled over the tracts of the 50 states and DC; interval from a bootstrap over counties (replicates and seed in the methods note). The share carries no margin of error of its own: HUD rounds every cell independently; the count includes the households with a severe burdenInterval95% CI 20.1% to 21.5%n84,410 tractsWeightsnone (pooled household counts)Populationowner households in the tracts of the 50 states and DC with a computed burdenPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability did. For a renter the cost is rent and utilities, and for an owner it is mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and utilities. Counted as households, 19.7 million19.7 million renter households with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandsum over tracts of renter households with a burden above 30 percentn84,410 tractsWeightsnone (survey-weighted household counts)Populationhouseholds in the tracts of the 50 states and DC (Puerto Rico left out)Period2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability renter households were over that line.

    The renter gap is detectable only at low incomes

    The renter share with a burden is 24.8 (95% CI 24.2 to 25.3)24.8 percentage points, renter share minus owner share with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandpooled renter share with a burden minus the pooled owner share with a burden; bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 24.2 to 25.3n84,410 tractsWeightsnone (pooled household counts)Populationhouseholds in the tracts of the 50 states and DC (Puerto Rico left out)Period2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability points above the owner share. Income separates households more than tenure does. HUD measures income against its area median family income (HAMFI), a benchmark it sets for each area that differs from the Census median household income, and sorts households into five bands. The gap between renters and owners is widest at incomes between 30%30% percent of HUD area median family incomeEstimandthe income line between the lowest and the second of HUD's five income bands (income relative to HUD's area median family income, HAMFI)Weightsnone (definition)Populationhouseholds in the HUD CHAS tabulationPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability and 80%80% percent of HUD area median family incomeEstimandthe income line for a low-income household: income at or below this share of HUD's area median family income (HAMFI)Weightsnone (definition)Populationhouseholds in the HUD CHAS tabulationPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability of HAMFI. In the two bands above that level, the intervals for the renter share minus the owner share include zero.

    The gap in the totals therefore reflects where renters sit in the income range. Giving renters the owners' mix of households across the five bands would leave a gap of 3.8 (95% CI 3.3 to 4.2)3.8 percentage points, standardized renter share minus owner share with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandthe renter burden at the owners' mix of five income bands minus the owner burden (a reweighting of the renters' rates, not a causal decomposition); bootstrap over counties. From the raw HUD CHAS county Table 8Interval95% CI 3.3 to 4.2n3,144 countiesWeightsnone (pooled household counts)Populationhouseholds with a computed burden in the counties of the 50 states and DC (Connecticut by planning region)Period2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability points. That reweighting rearranges the shares and does not say what would happen to any household.

    Figure 1

    45.6% of renter households pay more than 30% of their income for housing, against 20.8% of owner households

    Housing cost burden by tenure as HUD defines it, and by income relative to HUD's area median family income, 50 states and DC, 2018 to 2022

    The renter share with a burden is +24.4 points above the owner share at incomes of 30% to 50% of the area median and +12.0 points above it at 50% to 80%, and −0.5 and −0.2 points above it in the two bands over 80%

    Percent of households with a computed burden paying more than 30% of income, by tenure and by income relative to HUD's area median family income (HAMFI), 2018 to 2022

    Share paying more than 30% of income (%)

    • Owner households
    • Renter households

    The renter bar is taller than the owner bar in the three lowest income bands, by a small margin in the lowest and by wide margins in the next two, and the two bars are about as tall in the two highest bands. The three lowest bands together are the low-income households, who are 60.6% of renter households with a computed burden against 30.2% of owner households. Bars are pooled shares with 95% intervals from a bootstrap over counties.

    Show data
    Data for 45.6% of renter households pay more than 30% of their income for housing, against 20.8% of owner households, By income and tenure
    conf_highconf_lowhouseholdsincomesharetenure
    83.3682.245567551At or below 30% of HAMFI82.79Owner households
    84.6283.269549471At or below 30% of HAMFI83.94Renter households
    54.0652.156958005Above 30% to 50%53.11Owner households
    78.3976.497497295Above 30% to 50%77.48Renter households
    35.5133.4611919509Above 50% to 80%34.49Owner households
    47.9644.829118643Above 50% to 80%46.49Renter households
    22.1220.078344114Above 80% to 100%21.11Owner households
    21.9819.154689985Above 80% to 100%20.65Renter households
    5.945.1348039984Above 100%5.53Owner households
    5.874.7512336798Above 100%5.31Renter households

    The renter bar is taller than the owner bar in the three lowest income bands, and in the two highest bands the renter and owner shares are about equal. Each bar is the share of renter or owner households in one of HUD's five income bands that have a burden, with intervals from resampling counties. The first tab splits the burden into HUD's moderate and severe levels. Values in Table 1.

    Note: HUD counts a household as burdened when its housing costs exceed 30% of its income, and as severely burdened above 50%. Costs are rent and utilities for renters, and mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and utilities for owners. The moderate segment is the burdened share minus the severe share.Note: The five income bands are HUD's: at or below 30% of its area median family income (HAMFI), a benchmark HUD sets for each area that differs from the Census median household income, then up to 50%, up to 80%, up to the area median and above it. Low-income households are the three lowest bands. Every share divides by households with a computed burden, which leaves out 1.0 million renter and 0.7 million owner households with no or negative income, all in the lowest band; the staged HUD percentage for low-income burdened households divides by all households and is not used.Note: The second tab reads the raw county table of HUD's Table 8 (Connecticut by planning region), which is the only source of the five bands, and its totals differ from the tract totals in the first tab by HUD's rounding (a few hundredths of a point). In the two highest bands the renter and owner shares are about equal, so the gap in the first tab reflects where renters and owners sit in the income range.Note: The shares are ratios of survey-based household counts that HUD rounds cell by cell; HUD publishes margins of error for the counts and none for the shares. The intervals in the second tab come from a bootstrap over counties (replicates and seed in the methods note) and do not include the survey's sampling error. The stacked bars in the first tab carry no interval.Note: Puerto Rico is left out of every figure in this chapter.Source: HUD CHAS (American Community Survey 2018-2022 special tabulation); shares pooled over tracts and weighted by households, survey-based estimates with no margin of error published for the shares

    How we know

    The counts come from HUD's Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) files, which tabulate the American Community Survey for 2018 to 2022 by tenure, income and housing cost. They cover the 84,41084,410 tractsEstimandcount of tracts in the tract file after leaving out Puerto Rico and five Connecticut water-only tracts with no householdsWeightsnone (full count)Populationtracts of the 50 states and DC in the HUD CHAS tract file (Puerto Rico left out)Period2018 to 2022 (American Community Survey five-year special tabulation by HUD)SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability census tracts of the states and DC, and Puerto Rico is left out. The shares divide by the households whose burden HUD computes, which leaves out households with no or negative income, all of them in the lowest income band. HUD rounds every count and publishes margins of error for the counts but not for the shares. The intervals in this chapter therefore come from resampling counties and leave out the survey's own sampling error. The report gives every estimate with its interval and sample size.

    Within a county, renter burden rises with deprivation

    The Area Deprivation IndexArea Deprivation Index (ADI)A score that ranks neighborhoods by income, education, employment and housing conditions drawn from the American Community Survey. In this book a higher national percentile means a more deprived neighborhood. ranks tracts across the nation by deprivation, from census measures that include median home value, median gross rent and the monthly mortgage cost. Ranking tracts into tenths on it, the share of renters with a burden is 44.4% (95% CI 41.9% to 46.7%)44.4% percent of renter households with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandpooled share of the tenure's households with the burden over tracts in the tenth, bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 41.9% to 46.7%n8,208 tractsWeightshouseholds of the tenure with a computed burdenPopulationrenter households in tracts with an Area Deprivation Index (tenths hold near-equal numbers of tracts; tracts with equal ranks stay together), least deprived tenthPeriod2018 to 2022; Area Deprivation Index 2023SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability in the least deprived tenth and 47.6% (95% CI 46.6% to 48.4%)47.6% percent of renter households with housing costs above 30% of incomeEstimandpooled share of the tenure's households with the burden over tracts in the tenth, bootstrap over countiesInterval95% CI 46.6% to 48.4%n8,207 tractsWeightshouseholds of the tenure with a computed burdenPopulationrenter households in tracts with an Area Deprivation Index (tenths hold near-equal numbers of tracts; tracts with equal ranks stay together), most deprived tenthPeriod2018 to 2022; Area Deprivation Index 2023SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability in the most deprived. Across the nation the renter line has no linear trend.

    Comparing each tract with its own county removes the differences between counties. Within a single county, the renter share with a burden is higher in the more deprived tracts. Between counties the slope runs the other way, and the two patterns offset each other in the national line. Among low-income households alone, the share with a burden is lower where the index shows more deprivation, for renters and for owners.

    The index counts housing costs among its inputs, so it ranks tracts with costly housing as less deprived. Costly housing also means a larger burden at a given income, so a gradient of burden against the index is partly mechanical. The index also understates deprivation in high-cost cities.

    Figure 2

    Pooled across the nation, renter burden is 44.4% in the least deprived tenth of tracts and 47.6% in the most deprived, but within a county it rises by 2.3 points per 10 percentile points of the index

    Share of households paying more than 30% of income by tenth of tracts on the Area Deprivation Index, for all households, for low-income households and relative to the county, 2018 to 2022

    Renter burden is 44.4% in the least deprived tenth of tracts and 47.6% in the most deprived, while owner burden is 25.5% in the least deprived tenth and 18.3% in the ninth

    Percent of households paying more than 30% of income by tenth of tracts on the Area Deprivation Index, pooled over tracts, 50 states and DC, 2018 to 2022

    Share paying more than 30% of income (%)

    The renter line stays within 3.6 points across the ten tenths with no linear trend, and the owner line is higher in the least deprived tenth than in the ninth and turns up in the most deprived tenth. Points are pooled shares with 95% intervals from a bootstrap over counties.

    Show data
    Data for Pooled across the nation, renter burden is 44.4% in the least deprived tenth of tracts and 47.6% in the most deprived, but within a county it rises by 2.3 points per 10 percentile points of the index, All households
    conf_highconf_lowdecileseriessharetracts
    46.6841.911Renter households44.458208
    50.08452Renter households47.688074
    48.5044.763Renter households46.658454
    46.7144.484Renter households45.618241
    46.1644.145Renter households45.178179
    46.0244.166Renter households45.128304
    45.5743.597Renter households44.648307
    45.2743.518Renter households44.428234
    44.9543.269Renter households44.138350
    48.4246.6310Renter households47.588207
    27.2223.741Owner households25.558189
    25.4222.312Owner households23.878070
    22.6420.983Owner households21.798460
    21.7020.364Owner households21.038229
    20.8519.595Owner households20.208147
    2018.906Owner households19.458249
    19.5618.457Owner households18.978249
    18.8917.958Owner households18.428193
    18.7417.909Owner households18.318329
    20.2819.2510Owner households19.788212

    In the first tab the pooled renter line has no linear trend. Both lines for low-income households end lower in the most deprived tenth in the second tab, and the renter line rises with deprivation once each tract is compared with its own county in the third. Each point pools the households of one tenth of tracts, the tenths hold near-equal numbers of tracts, and the bands are intervals from resampling counties. Values in Table 3.

    Note: The Area Deprivation Index is built partly from median home value, median gross rent and median monthly mortgage cost, so it ranks tracts with costly housing as less deprived and a burden gradient against it is partly mechanical. The index also understates deprivation in high-cost cities. Tenths hold near-equal numbers of tracts (tracts with equal ranks stay in one tenth), not equal numbers of households.Note: 82,786 tracts have an index and 1,624 do not and are left out. Each point weights tracts by the households behind the share, and a tract share rests on a few households in a small tract.Note: Across all the tracts with an index, 45.5% of renter households and 20.8% of owner households pay more than 30% of income, and 69.0% of low-income renter households do.Note: In the third tab the county level is the household-weighted mean of the tract shares of the tenure across the county's tracts that have an index, so a county with one such tract adds no deviation. The slope is the within-county slope of the tract share on the index national rank with a separate baseline for each county, per 10 percentile points.Source: HUD CHAS (American Community Survey 2018-2022 special tabulation) and Area Deprivation Index 2023 (built on ACS 2019-2023); shares pooled over tracts and weighted by households, bootstrap over counties, survey-based estimates with no margin of error published for the shares

    The filing index and the filing rate rank tracts differently

    The Eviction Lab's Eviction Tracking System counts eviction court filings by month and census tract in the cities and metro areas it tracks, which it calls sites. Filings are landlord petitions in court, not completed evictions. The sites are the places the Eviction Lab tracks and not the nation, and the tracts in the chapter's filing index hold 14.9%14.9% percent of the nation's renter householdsEstimandrenter households in the tracts of the filing index over renter households in all tracts of the 50 states and DC (the index tracts are those of the Eviction Lab sites, matched on the 2020 tract code)n10,242 tractsWeightsnone (survey-weighted household counts)Populationrenter households of the 50 states and DCPeriod2018 to 2022SourceHUD CHAS housing affordability of the nation's renter households.

    The index divides a tract's filings in a month by the filings the Eviction Lab records for the same calendar month before the pandemic, summed over tracts. The pooled index fell to its lowest value in April 2020 and stayed below the baseline until January 2022. The federal moratoria ran from the CARES Act in March 2020 to the Supreme Court's ruling against the CDC order in August 2021.[1] Federal protection was not continuous, and states and cities set their own rules. The pooled index first rose above the baseline in February 2022.

    The Eviction Lab also classifies each tract by the racial or ethnic group that makes up a majority of its residents in the American Community Survey for 2015 to 2019. The classification says nothing about the race of any tenant, and Black and white mean non-Hispanic. Majority-Hispanic tracts form a third group, and a fourth holds tracts where another group or no group is a majority. In 2023 the index was 0.980.98 ratio of filings to the same-month baseline (1 = baseline)Estimandfilings divided by the pre-pandemic baseline, summed over the tract-months of the group (a ratio of sums), all tract-months of 2023 (race is the tract's majority racial or ethnic group of residents in the ACS for 2015 to 2019 as the Eviction Lab classifies it, not the race of any tenant)n1,342 tractsWeightsnone (full counts of filings)Populationtracts classified majority Black by the Eviction Lab, in the balanced panel with a baselinePeriodcalendar year 2023SourceEviction Tracking System in majority-Black tracts and 1.281.28 ratio of filings to the same-month baseline (1 = baseline)Estimandfilings divided by the pre-pandemic baseline, summed over the tract-months of the group (a ratio of sums), all tract-months of 2023 (race is the tract's majority racial or ethnic group of residents in the ACS for 2015 to 2019 as the Eviction Lab classifies it, not the race of any tenant)n4,919 tractsWeightsnone (full counts of filings)Populationtracts classified majority white by the Eviction Lab, in the balanced panel with a baselinePeriodcalendar year 2023SourceEviction Tracking System in majority-white tracts. Since March 2021 the line for majority-Black tracts is at or near the lowest of the four groups in every month.

    The index compares each group with its own past, and the pasts differ. Before the pandemic, filings ran at 12.712.7 eviction filings per 100 renter households per yearEstimandfilings summed over the tracts of the group divided by the renter households of those tracts (ACS 2019-2023 households times one minus the homeownership rate), per 100n1,336 tractsWeightsnone (full counts of filings)Populationtracts classified majority Black by the Eviction Lab, in the balanced panel with a baseline and renter householdsPeriodan average year before the pandemic (baseline)SourceEviction Tracking System per hundred renter households per year in majority-Black tracts and 4.24.2 eviction filings per 100 renter households per yearEstimandfilings summed over the tracts of the group divided by the renter households of those tracts (ACS 2019-2023 households times one minus the homeownership rate), per 100n4,903 tractsWeightsnone (full counts of filings)Populationtracts classified majority white by the Eviction Lab, in the balanced panel with a baseline and renter householdsPeriodan average year before the pandemic (baseline)SourceEviction Tracking System in majority-white tracts. Filings in majority-Black tracts returned to about their baseline, which was already high, and filings in majority-white tracts rose above a lower baseline. Hepburn, Louis and Desmond found the highest rates of eviction filing among Black renters in court records for 2012 to 2016.[2]

    Figure 3

    Eviction filings in majority-Black tracts ran at 0.98 times their baseline in 2023 and in majority-white tracts at 1.28 times, from baseline rates per renter household that differed by a factor of 3.0

    Eviction filings against the pre-pandemic baseline by the racial majority of the tract, and filings per 100 renter households per year before the pandemic and in 2023

    Since March 2021 the filing index is at or near its lowest in majority-Black tracts in every month, and from 2024 it is at or near its highest in majority-white tracts

    Monthly filings divided by each group's pre-pandemic baseline, by racial majority of the tract, January 2020 to December 2025

    Filings divided by the group's pre-pandemic baseline (1 = baseline)

    All four lines fall together in spring 2020; since March 2021 the line for majority-Black tracts is at or near the lowest of the four in every month, and from 2024 the line for majority-white tracts is at or near the highest.

    Show data
    Data for Eviction filings in majority-Black tracts ran at 0.98 times their baseline in 2023 and in majority-white tracts at 1.28 times, from baseline rates per renter household that differed by a factor of 3.0, Against the baseline
    groupindexmonthtractsx
    Majority-Black tracts0.9642020-0113422020
    Majority-Black tracts1.022020-0213422020.1
    Majority-Black tracts0.5662020-0313422020.2
    Majority-Black tracts0.0742020-0413422020.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.1372020-0513422020.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.2962020-0613422020.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.3062020-0713422020.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.4052020-0813422020.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.5152020-0913422020.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.5212020-1013422020.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.5512020-1113422020.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.6612020-1213422020.9
    Majority-Black tracts0.4772021-0113422021
    Majority-Black tracts0.5272021-0213422021.1
    Majority-Black tracts0.6892021-0313422021.2
    Majority-Black tracts0.4982021-0413422021.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.4142021-0513422021.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.4672021-0613422021.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.4722021-0713422021.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.4972021-0813422021.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.6312021-0913422021.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.7122021-1013422021.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.7552021-1113422021.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.7912021-1213422021.9
    Majority-Black tracts0.8012022-0113422022
    Majority-Black tracts0.9322022-0213422022.1
    Majority-Black tracts1.102022-0313422022.2
    Majority-Black tracts0.9082022-0413422022.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.8642022-0513422022.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.8762022-0613422022.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.8912022-0713422022.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.9692022-0813422022.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.9512022-0913422022.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.9392022-1013422022.8
    Majority-Black tracts1.042022-1113422022.8
    Majority-Black tracts1.052022-1213422022.9
    Majority-Black tracts0.9922023-0113422023
    Majority-Black tracts1.092023-0213422023.1
    Majority-Black tracts1.172023-0313422023.2
    Majority-Black tracts0.9732023-0413422023.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.9642023-0513422023.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.9532023-0613422023.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.8712023-0713422023.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.9742023-0813422023.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.9162023-0913422023.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.9992023-1013422023.8
    Majority-Black tracts1.012023-1113422023.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.9652023-1213422023.9
    Majority-Black tracts0.9722024-0113422024
    Majority-Black tracts1.132024-0213422024.1
    Majority-Black tracts0.9202024-0313422024.2
    Majority-Black tracts1.012024-0413422024.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.9062024-0513422024.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.8802024-0613422024.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.9622024-0713422024.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.8682024-0813422024.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.8412024-0913422024.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.8332024-1013422024.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.9192024-1113422024.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.9332024-1213422024.9
    Majority-Black tracts0.9032025-0113422025
    Majority-Black tracts0.9872025-0213422025.1
    Majority-Black tracts0.9922025-0313422025.2
    Majority-Black tracts0.9102025-0413422025.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.8752025-0513422025.3
    Majority-Black tracts0.8532025-0613422025.4
    Majority-Black tracts0.9582025-0713422025.5
    Majority-Black tracts0.8342025-0813422025.6
    Majority-Black tracts0.8832025-0913422025.7
    Majority-Black tracts0.9022025-1013422025.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.7982025-1113422025.8
    Majority-Black tracts0.9542025-1213422025.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9872020-0115912020
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.102020-0215912020.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.6622020-0315912020.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.1182020-0415912020.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.1712020-0515912020.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.3102020-0615912020.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.2922020-0715912020.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.4312020-0815912020.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.4782020-0915912020.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5172020-1015912020.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.6282020-1115912020.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5742020-1215912020.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.4922021-0115912021
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.4712021-0215912021.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.7002021-0315912021.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5802021-0415912021.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.4922021-0515912021.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5792021-0615912021.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5932021-0715912021.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.5972021-0815912021.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.7622021-0915912021.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8162021-1015912021.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8332021-1115912021.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8802021-1215912021.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8852022-0115912022
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.162022-0215912022.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.402022-0315912022.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.122022-0415912022.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.012022-0515912022.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.012022-0615912022.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.102022-0715912022.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.102022-0815912022.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.182022-0915912022.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.072022-1015912022.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.132022-1115912022.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.222022-1215912022.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.082023-0115912023
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.192023-0215912023.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.352023-0315912023.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.172023-0415912023.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.172023-0515912023.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.012023-0615912023.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.062023-0715912023.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.092023-0815912023.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.052023-0915912023.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.072023-1015912023.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.082023-1115912023.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.052023-1215912023.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.062024-0115912024
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.212024-0215912024.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.092024-0315912024.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.132024-0415912024.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.042024-0515912024.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9162024-0615912024.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.072024-0715912024.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9872024-0815912024.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.052024-0915912024.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9632024-1015912024.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9872024-1115912024.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.042024-1215912024.9
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9932025-0115912025
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.062025-0215912025.1
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.122025-0315912025.2
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9932025-0415912025.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.012025-0515912025.3
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8652025-0615912025.4
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9882025-0715912025.5
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8862025-0815912025.6
    Majority-Hispanic tracts1.002025-0915912025.7
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9372025-1015912025.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.8982025-1115912025.8
    Majority-Hispanic tracts0.9972025-1215912025.9
    No majority or other group1.062020-0121552020
    No majority or other group1.142020-0221552020.1
    No majority or other group0.6842020-0321552020.2
    No majority or other group0.0702020-0421552020.3
    No majority or other group0.1122020-0521552020.3
    No majority or other group0.2312020-0621552020.4
    No majority or other group0.2272020-0721552020.5
    No majority or other group0.3832020-0821552020.6
    No majority or other group0.4812020-0921552020.7
    No majority or other group0.5892020-1021552020.8
    No majority or other group0.7352020-1121552020.8
    No majority or other group0.7022020-1221552020.9
    No majority or other group0.5422021-0121552021
    No majority or other group0.5462021-0221552021.1
    No majority or other group0.7772021-0321552021.2
    No majority or other group0.5412021-0421552021.3
    No majority or other group0.4692021-0521552021.3
    No majority or other group0.6052021-0621552021.4
    No majority or other group0.6052021-0721552021.5
    No majority or other group0.5992021-0821552021.6
    No majority or other group0.7872021-0921552021.7
    No majority or other group0.8302021-1021552021.8
    No majority or other group0.8732021-1121552021.8
    No majority or other group0.8622021-1221552021.9
    No majority or other group0.9342022-0121552022
    No majority or other group1.192022-0221552022.1
    No majority or other group1.432022-0321552022.2
    No majority or other group1.122022-0421552022.3
    No majority or other group1.092022-0521552022.3
    No majority or other group1.162022-0621552022.4
    No majority or other group1.202022-0721552022.5
    No majority or other group1.292022-0821552022.6
    No majority or other group1.212022-0921552022.7
    No majority or other group1.192022-1021552022.8
    No majority or other group1.272022-1121552022.8
    No majority or other group1.322022-1221552022.9
    No majority or other group1.262023-0121552023
    No majority or other group1.372023-0221552023.1
    No majority or other group1.522023-0321552023.2
    No majority or other group1.252023-0421552023.3
    No majority or other group1.332023-0521552023.3
    No majority or other group1.212023-0621552023.4
    No majority or other group1.212023-0721552023.5
    No majority or other group1.252023-0821552023.6
    No majority or other group1.212023-0921552023.7
    No majority or other group1.272023-1021552023.8
    No majority or other group1.252023-1121552023.8
    No majority or other group1.182023-1221552023.9
    No majority or other group1.242024-0121552024
    No majority or other group1.342024-0221552024.1
    No majority or other group1.302024-0321552024.2
    No majority or other group1.252024-0421552024.3
    No majority or other group1.172024-0521552024.3
    No majority or other group1.112024-0621552024.4
    No majority or other group1.212024-0721552024.5
    No majority or other group1.132024-0821552024.6
    No majority or other group1.152024-0921552024.7
    No majority or other group1.032024-1021552024.8
    No majority or other group1.132024-1121552024.8
    No majority or other group1.212024-1221552024.9
    No majority or other group1.172025-0121552025
    No majority or other group1.272025-0221552025.1
    No majority or other group1.292025-0321552025.2
    No majority or other group1.162025-0421552025.3
    No majority or other group1.142025-0521552025.3
    No majority or other group1.062025-0621552025.4
    No majority or other group1.122025-0721552025.5
    No majority or other group1.042025-0821552025.6
    No majority or other group1.112025-0921552025.7
    No majority or other group1.132025-1021552025.8
    No majority or other group1.062025-1121552025.8
    No majority or other group1.122025-1221552025.9
    Majority-white tracts1.012020-0149192020
    Majority-white tracts1.062020-0249192020.1
    Majority-white tracts0.6182020-0349192020.2
    Majority-white tracts0.0952020-0449192020.3
    Majority-white tracts0.1362020-0549192020.3
    Majority-white tracts0.2522020-0649192020.4
    Majority-white tracts0.2702020-0749192020.5
    Majority-white tracts0.4282020-0849192020.6
    Majority-white tracts0.5322020-0949192020.7
    Majority-white tracts0.5792020-1049192020.8
    Majority-white tracts0.6402020-1149192020.8
    Majority-white tracts0.6872020-1249192020.9
    Majority-white tracts0.5262021-0149192021
    Majority-white tracts0.5312021-0249192021.1
    Majority-white tracts0.7392021-0349192021.2
    Majority-white tracts0.5502021-0449192021.3
    Majority-white tracts0.4972021-0549192021.3
    Majority-white tracts0.6042021-0649192021.4
    Majority-white tracts0.6122021-0749192021.5
    Majority-white tracts0.6432021-0849192021.6
    Majority-white tracts0.7812021-0949192021.7
    Majority-white tracts0.8172021-1049192021.8
    Majority-white tracts0.8622021-1149192021.8
    Majority-white tracts0.8712021-1249192021.9
    Majority-white tracts0.8922022-0149192022
    Majority-white tracts1.042022-0249192022.1
    Majority-white tracts1.192022-0349192022.2
    Majority-white tracts1.092022-0449192022.3
    Majority-white tracts1.042022-0549192022.3
    Majority-white tracts1.112022-0649192022.4
    Majority-white tracts1.062022-0749192022.5
    Majority-white tracts1.202022-0849192022.6
    Majority-white tracts1.212022-0949192022.7
    Majority-white tracts1.232022-1049192022.8
    Majority-white tracts1.262022-1149192022.8
    Majority-white tracts1.302022-1249192022.9
    Majority-white tracts1.262023-0149192023
    Majority-white tracts1.312023-0249192023.1
    Majority-white tracts1.402023-0349192023.2
    Majority-white tracts1.142023-0449192023.3
    Majority-white tracts1.292023-0549192023.3
    Majority-white tracts1.282023-0649192023.4
    Majority-white tracts1.182023-0749192023.5
    Majority-white tracts1.292023-0849192023.6
    Majority-white tracts1.222023-0949192023.7
    Majority-white tracts1.332023-1049192023.8
    Majority-white tracts1.332023-1149192023.8
    Majority-white tracts1.322023-1249192023.9
    Majority-white tracts1.302024-0149192024
    Majority-white tracts1.502024-0249192024.1
    Majority-white tracts1.332024-0349192024.2
    Majority-white tracts1.372024-0449192024.3
    Majority-white tracts1.232024-0549192024.3
    Majority-white tracts1.222024-0649192024.4
    Majority-white tracts1.302024-0749192024.5
    Majority-white tracts1.252024-0849192024.6
    Majority-white tracts1.242024-0949192024.7
    Majority-white tracts1.202024-1049192024.8
    Majority-white tracts1.292024-1149192024.8
    Majority-white tracts1.432024-1249192024.9
    Majority-white tracts1.312025-0149192025
    Majority-white tracts1.402025-0249192025.1
    Majority-white tracts1.342025-0349192025.2
    Majority-white tracts1.352025-0449192025.3
    Majority-white tracts1.292025-0549192025.3
    Majority-white tracts1.232025-0649192025.4
    Majority-white tracts1.322025-0749192025.5
    Majority-white tracts1.222025-0849192025.6
    Majority-white tracts1.292025-0949192025.7
    Majority-white tracts1.312025-1049192025.8
    Majority-white tracts1.232025-1149192025.8
    Majority-white tracts1.382025-1249192025.9

    In the first tab the line for majority-Black tracts runs at or near the lowest since March 2021. In the second tab majority-Black tracts have the highest filing rate per renter household both before the pandemic and in 2023. The first tab plots filings divided by each group's own pre-pandemic baseline, by month from 2020 to 2025, and the second plots filings per hundred renter households per year. Values in Table 6.

    Note: Race is the Eviction Lab's tract classification by the group that makes up a majority of residents in the ACS for 2015 to 2019 (Black and White are non-Hispanic, Hispanic is of any race; the fourth group is another majority or none) and is missing for 236 panel tracts, which are left out of this figure. The index uses each group's own baseline, so it measures change from that group's past and does not compare the groups' filing rates.Note: Filing rates divide filings in the group's tracts by renter households (ACS 2019-2023 households times one minus the homeownership rate), so the numerator and the denominator describe different years. Filings can repeat at one address, so a rate of filings per household is not a share of households.Note: Hepburn, Louis and Desmond report the highest filing rates among Black renters in court records for 2012 to 2016, which is consistent with the baseline rates in the second tab.Source: Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System, 2020-2025, and ACS 2019-2023 renter households; full counts of court filings, not weighted

    What the comparisons show and do not show

    Every comparison here is between places or groups of households, and none follows a household. Income separates households more than tenure does. Across tracts, renter burden has no linear trend nationally and is higher in the more deprived tracts within a county. HUD also publishes a Fair Market Rent for each of its areas, a monthly rent standard for its housing voucher program. Across the areas made of whole counties, the renter share with a burden moves with the share of the area's median household income that a year of the two-bedroom standard takes. The standard is for fiscal year 2025, later than the burden and the incomes, and the comparison holds across areas and not within a metropolitan area. The income covers all households, not only renters, and New England is left out. Both measures are a cost over an income, so they move together partly by construction.

    On filings, the index shows where filings rose against the past and not where households face the most eviction. In Cook County, Illinois, and New York City, eviction cases are assigned to judges at random. Using that assignment, Collinson and coauthors find that an eviction order increases homelessness and hospital visits and lowers earnings in the years just after the order.[3] The estimates are for tenants whose outcomes depend on the judge they draw, in those two courts, and they concern a court order. Counts of filings cannot test such a claim, since they count petitions and not what follows them.

    What this cannot tell you

    The burden compares housing costs with income at one time, and it does not say whether a household chose costly housing or had no cheaper option. A pattern across tracts, counties or sites need not hold for the households inside them (ecological inferenceEcological inferenceDrawing conclusions about individuals from data about places or groups. A pattern across counties need not hold for the people inside them.). One household can be the subject of several filings, and moratoria, emergency rental assistance, court closures and changes in local law all moved filings in these years in ways the data do not separate. The renter households behind the filing rates are from 2019 to 2023 and the filings from 2020 to 2025.

    Go deeper

    • The report: every estimate with its interval and sample size.
    • Tables: every figure of the report as a table.

    Data sources

    • HUD CHAS housing affordabilityHUD Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy, American Community Survey 2018-2022 special tabulation: households by tenure, income relative to HUD's area median family income and housing cost burden, tracts and countiesYears: 2018-2022 · Weights: none (pooled household counts) · License: Public domain (U.S. federal)
    • HUD Fair Market RentsHUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal year 2025: the two-bedroom rent standard for each FMR areaYears: fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025) · Weights: renter households with a computed burden (CHAS) · License: Public domain (U.S. federal)
    • American Community SurveyACS 2019-2023 county median household incomeYears: 2019-2023 (5-year) · Weights: household counts (CHAS) for the area mean · License: Public domain (U.S. Census Bureau)
    • Area Deprivation IndexArea Deprivation Index 2023, national rank, tracts ranked into tenthsYears: 2023 release (version 4.0.1; built on ACS 2019-2023) · Weights: households of the tenure with a computed burden · License: Free for non-commercial use; cite the Neighborhood Atlas and Kind and Buckingham
    • Eviction Tracking SystemEviction Tracking System, monthly eviction filings by tract and a pre-pandemic baseline, January 2020 to December 2025Years: 2020-2026 (monthly) · Weights: none (full counts of filings) · License: Eviction Lab data license; cite Hepburn, Louis and Desmond; not public domain

    All data sources

    References

    1. McCarty, Maggie; Carpenter, David H.; Perl, Libby (2021). The CDC's Federal Eviction Moratorium. Congressional Research Service, Insight IN11673 (updated August 31, 2021). www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IN11673.html
    2. Hepburn, Peter; Louis, Renee; Desmond, Matthew (2020). Racial and Gender Disparities among Evicted Americans. Sociological Science 7: 649-662. doi:10.15195/v7.a27
    3. Collinson, Robert; Humphries, John Eric; Mader, Nicholas; Reed, Davin; Tannenbaum, Daniel; van Dijk, Winnie (2024). Eviction and Poverty in American Cities. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 139(1): 57-120. doi:10.1093/qje/qjad042

    How to cite

    @misc{singh2026rentingaffordabilityandeviction,
  author = {Singh, Vishal},
  title = {Renting, affordability and eviction},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/renting-affordability-and-eviction},
  note = {In ZIP Code Destiny. Published 9 October 2026.}
}