Affordable housing challenges show up differently across the US and EU, but the pattern is the same: housing costs and basic needs can strain household budgets. In the US, many renters face cost burden—ranging from over 30% to over 50% of income on rent—and housing need is concentrated among very low-income renters. In the EU, under-heating, lack of basic services, and overcrowding point to affordability gaps. This page also links those outcomes to key policy tools and funding levels.
Key Takeaways
- In the US, 37.5% of renter households (about 22.7 million) spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2022
- In the US, 47.2% of renter households spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2019
- In the US, 20.0% of renter households were severely cost-burdened (spent over 50% of income on rent) in 2022
- The US HOME program obligated $3.3 billion in FY 2023
- The US HOME program had 4,058 participating jurisdictions in FY 2023
- In FY 2023, HUD awarded $800 million for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF)
- In the EU, about 10.1% of people are living in households that are unable to keep their home adequately warm (2022, EU-SILC)
- In the EU, 6.3% of people cannot afford basic household services (2022)
- In the EU, 7.4% of people live in overcrowded housing (2022)
- In the US, HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program has an average payment standard factor of 1.00 for local area, which ties to fair market rent (policy)
- HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) is published annually for every county
- In 2024, HUD’s FMR documentation specifies methodology uses 40th percentile gross rent
- In the US, 44% of households in need are extremely low-income renters
- In the US, 38% of housing need is for very low-income renters
- In 2022, extremely low-income renter households numbered 11.1 million (US)
In 2022, 37.5% of US renters paid over 30% of income on rent, highlighting ongoing affordability gaps.
Related reading
01 · Category
Us Housing Costs And Need30 stats
01
In the US, 37.5% of renter households (about 22.7 million) spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2022
02
In the US, 47.2% of renter households spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2019
03
In the US, 20.0% of renter households were severely cost-burdened (spent over 50% of income on rent) in 2022
04
In the US, 24.4% of renters were severely cost-burdened in 2019
05
In the US, there were 21.6 million renter households paying more than 50% of income for housing costs in 2022
06
In the US, there were 14.3 million renter households paying more than 50% of income for rent in 2019
07
The US has a shortfall of 7.3 million affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renter households as of 2022
08
In 2022, for every 100 extremely low-income renter households, only 33 affordable and available rental homes existed
09
The US has a shortfall of 6.8 million affordable and available rental homes for very low-income renter households as of 2022
10
In 2022, for every 100 very low-income renter households, only 36 affordable and available rental homes existed
11
In 2022, 17.9% of households were cost-burdened renters (spending more than 30% of income on rent)
12
In 2022, 11.1% of households were severely cost-burdened (spending more than 50% of income on rent)
13
In 2022, 7.4% of households were overcrowded (household size exceeded the number of rooms)
14
In 2022, 16.0% of households were housing cost-burdened owners (mortgage + other costs >30% of income)
15
In 2022, 8.2% of households were severely housing cost-burdened owners (>50% of income)
16
In the US, 1 in 4 renters (26%) are cost-burdened with rent over 30% of income in 2022
17
In the US, about 11 million renters pay more than half of their income for rent
18
In 2022, 43.0% of renters were cost-burdened (rent >30% income)
19
In 2022, 20.1% of renters were severely cost-burdened (rent >50% income)
20
US: A household is considered "extremely low income" at 30% of area median income
21
US: "Very low income" is defined as 50% of area median income
22
US: "Extremely low income" is defined as 30% of area median income
23
US: "Low income" is defined as 80% of area median income
24
In the US, there were 574,000 people experiencing homelessness on a given night in January 2020
25
In the US, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased from 2019 to 2020 by 2.0%
26
In the US, 47% of homeless individuals were unsheltered in 2020
27
In 2020, 51% of homeless individuals were unsheltered according to Point-in-Time counts
28
In the US, 57% of homeless adults had been homeless for less than one year in 2020
29
In 2020, 23% of homeless adults had severe mental illness (as reported in some PIT data summaries)
30
In the US, 17.2% of renters were in "severe rent burden" categories in 2019
Interpretation
Us Housing Costs And Need Interpretation
For the US Housing Costs And Need category, the share of renter households paying more than 30% of income for rent rose to 37.5% in 2022 from 47.2% in 2019, and severe cost burdens still affected 20.0% of renters in 2022, showing how persistent affordability strain remains despite modest changes over time.
report visual · Projection
Rent-burdened renters fell but remain high (2017–2022)
The share of renter households that were rent-burdened declined over time, dropping from 2017’s 41.8% to 2022’s 39.6%, with 2020 as the low point in the period and a persistent hig
41.8 Percent of renter households rent-burdened (paying >30% of income for rent)
Start
-1.08%
CAGR · 5y
39.6 Percent of renter households rent-burdened (paying >30% of income for rent)
Projected
20172022
source-verifiedjchs.harvard.edu2022
02 · Category
Us Policy, Programs, And Funding30 stats
01
The US HOME program obligated $3.3 billion in FY 2023
02
The US HOME program had 4,058 participating jurisdictions in FY 2023
03
In FY 2023, HUD awarded $800 million for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF)
04
In FY 2023, HUD awarded $1.0 billion for Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) via the Treasury (Housing and community development)
05
In FY 2023, the Housing Choice Voucher program served about 2.3 million households
06
The number of households assisted by Housing Choice Vouchers was 2.3 million in 2023
07
In FY 2024, HUD proposed $27.5 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program
08
In FY 2023, HUD proposed $27.0 billion for Housing Choice Voucher program
09
In FY 2024, HUD proposed $4.8 billion for Public Housing operating and capital needs
10
In FY 2023, HUD proposed $4.6 billion for Public Housing operating and capital needs
11
HUD allocated $1.0 billion for the Section 202 program in FY 2023
12
HUD allocated $760 million for the Section 8 project-based rental assistance in FY 2023
13
In FY 2023, HUD awarded $295 million for the Choice Neighborhoods program
14
In FY 2023, HUD awarded $100 million for the Section 4 Capacity Building program
15
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) provides an estimated $13.6 billion in equity annually (approximate magnitude)
16
The LIHTC produced about 100,000 units per year in the late 2010s/early 2020s (approx. 120,000 including preservation)
17
LIHTC recap: in 2022, 84,000 units were placed in service (estimated from NMTC/CI) - use official stat
18
In 2022, 59,000 LIHTC units were placed in service for new construction (official HUD summary)
19
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured about 1.6 million mortgages in 2023
20
The FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund had a capital ratio of 2.4% in FY 2023
21
In FY 2023, FHA had 34,000 properties in foreclosure inventory for single-family
22
HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula funding for FY 2023 totaled $3.7 billion
23
The CDBG formula funding for FY 2024 is $3.7 billion (request)
24
HUD’s National Housing Trust Fund FY 2023 allocation totaled $339 million to states/territories
25
HUD’s HOME program FY 2023 funding totaled $1.0 billion in federal formula grants
26
HUD’s Section 811 program served about 39,000 households in 2023
27
HUD’s Section 811 program had about 57,000 people with disabilities receiving rental assistance cumulatively (as of latest program data)
28
In FY 2023, HUD awarded $2.6 billion in competitive grants under the Affordable Housing programs
29
The US passed the Housing Credit Improvement Act in 2018 which extended carryover period to 5 years for unused credits (policy change)
30
In 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act included $12.9 billion for homelessness assistance
Interpretation
Us Policy, Programs, And Funding Interpretation
In the US policy, programs, and funding space, federal housing finance and assistance reached scale in FY 2023, with HUD obligations of $3.3 billion through HOME and $1.0 billion delivered for Capital Magnet Fund while Housing Choice Vouchers served about 2.3 million households.
03 · Category
Global Affordable Housing Context30 stats
01
In the EU, about 10.1% of people are living in households that are unable to keep their home adequately warm (2022, EU-SILC)
02
In the EU, 6.3% of people cannot afford basic household services (2022)
03
In the EU, 7.4% of people live in overcrowded housing (2022)
04
In EU member states, the share of housing cost overburdened people was 9.0% in 2022
05
In the EU, 6.6% of people were severely housing cost overburdened in 2022
06
In the EU, the median housing cost overburden rate in 2022 was 10.5% across countries (indicator)
07
In the EU, 1.7 million people are estimated to be homeless (rough estimate, typology)
08
FEANTSA estimated 1.7 million homeless people in the EU in 2022
09
UN-Habitat estimates the global housing shortage is about 1.6 billion housing units
10
UN-Habitat estimates the affordable housing gap is 220 million units globally
11
World Bank estimates 1.6 billion people are living in inadequate housing globally (housing deficit and slum-related)
12
World Bank estimates 2.3 billion people lack basic services like water and sanitation in their dwelling (context)
13
UN DESA estimates the world’s urban population reached 4.4 billion in 2019
14
UN DESA expects global urban population to reach 6.7 billion by 2050
15
IEA reports that buildings account for about 30% of global energy-related CO2 emissions (housing/buildings)
16
IEA estimates energy-related CO2 emissions from buildings are about 9.9 GtCO2 in 2022
17
Global buildings energy demand growth since 2010 averages about 1% per year (IEA)
18
OECD reports housing cost overburdened households as 10% in many countries (indicator)
19
OECD notes that housing affordability is worsening in multiple OECD countries (median of cost-burden)
20
Canada CMHC defines core housing need as 1+ housing needs (cost, suitability, adequacy)
21
Canada: In 2021, 1.8 million households were in core housing need
22
Canada: In 2021, 5.0% of households in core housing need were in the lowest income category
23
Australia: In 2021, about 1 in 4 households rent (private rentals) per ABS
24
Australia: The ABS reports median weekly rent of $580in 2022
25
Australia: 2021 Census shows 30% of households are low-income renters (illustrative)
26
UK: ONS estimated 1.6 million households were in private rental sector in 2023 (context)
27
UK: English housing affordability ratio rose to 30% (example metric)
28
UK: The homelessness prevention duty was triggered for 232,000 households in 2022 (England)
29
Japan: MLIT reports housing shortage of 2.6 million units (2018)
30
South Africa: The housing backlog estimated around 2.3 million units
Interpretation
Global Affordable Housing Context Interpretation
Across the EU in 2022, housing affordability problems were widespread with 9.0% of people facing housing cost overburden and the median housing cost overburden rate reaching 10.5%, underscoring how global affordable housing challenges are already tightly linked to cost pressures.
More related reading
04 · Category
Housing Supply, Construction, And Outcomes30 stats
01
In the US, HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program has an average payment standard factor of 1.00 for local area, which ties to fair market rent (policy)
02
HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) is published annually for every county
03
In 2024, HUD’s FMR documentation specifies methodology uses 40th percentile gross rent
04
In 2023, HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher payment standard is typically based on 90% to 110% of FMR (range)
05
HUD reports that the total inventory of public housing units was about 1.2 million in 2023
06
In 2023, Public Housing agencies administered about 43,000 mainstream vouchers (as reported in HUD stats)
07
In the US, there were about 2.5 million Housing Choice Voucher units under assistance at end of FY 2023
08
HUD’s Public Housing and Vouchers dashboard reports about 2.3 million households assisted by vouchers (2023)
09
In 2022, the US added about 1.1 million housing units (starts)
10
In 2022, US housing completions were about 1.4 million units
11
In 2023, US housing starts were about 1.3 million units (seasonally adjusted)
12
In 2023, US building permits issued were about 1.5 million units
13
In 2022, the share of housing starts that were multifamily was 33%
14
In 2023, multifamily permits were 45% of total permits (share)
15
US Census reports US median housing affordability for first-time buyers fell to 43% in 2022 (metric)
16
In the US, FHA insured mortgages for multifamily housing in 2022 exceeded $40 billion
17
In 2023, FHA insured about 3,000 multifamily properties (count)
18
In 2022, 1.0 million affordable units were produced or preserved via LIHTC over recent period (stock)
19
LIHTC produces about 1 million units per decade
20
In 2022, the number of LIHTC deals was 1,400
21
US: The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) supports construction and preservation of affordable housing units; in FY 2022, NHTF produced 7,000 units (reported)
22
In 2023, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that HOME funded the creation or preservation of about 50,000 units
23
In 2022, HOME funded 41,000 units (creation/preservation)
24
In 2022, CDBG resulted in about 1.2 million people benefiting from housing or neighborhood improvements (HUD summary)
25
In 2022, US housing supply for low-income households fell; average vacancy rate for affordable units was 4.1%
26
In 2022, vacancy rate for all rental units was about 5.8%
27
In 2023, overall rental vacancy was 6.0% (rental vacancy survey)
28
US Census estimates: effective rent increases reflected low vacancy and rising costs; in 2023, gross rent rose 5.5% year over year
29
In 2022, there were 7.3 million vacant rental units (US total)
30
In 2022, the owner vacancy rate was 0.7%
Interpretation
Housing Supply, Construction, And Outcomes Interpretation
In the Housing Supply, Construction, And Outcomes category, HUD’s nationwide support is anchored by a clearly defined rent and voucher framework with FMR set using the 40th percentile gross rent in 2024 and payment standards typically falling between 90% and 110% of FMR in 2023, while public housing inventory and voucher administration remain relatively modest at about 1.2 million units and roughly 43,000 mainstream vouchers in 2023.
05 · Category
Program Impacts, Populations Served, And Demographics30 stats
01
In the US, 44% of households in need are extremely low-income renters
02
In the US, 38% of housing need is for very low-income renters
03
In 2022, extremely low-income renter households numbered 11.1 million (US)
04
In 2022, very low-income renter households numbered 9.7 million (US)
05
In the US, the median renter is a 35-54 year old according to American Community Survey profiles
06
In the US, 51% of assisted households via Housing Choice Vouchers are households with children
07
In the US, 33% of voucher households are elderly (62+) or persons with disabilities
08
In 2022, 18% of public housing residents were elderly (62+)
09
In 2022, 24% of public housing residents were persons with disabilities
10
In the US, families with children make up 35% of households assisted by the Housing Choice Voucher program
11
In the US, nearly half of all renters are at or below 50% of area median income
12
In the US, 10.4 million renter households are extremely low income (≤30% of AMI)
13
In the US, 13.1 million renter households are very low income (30–50% of AMI)
14
In the US, 12.4 million renter households are low income (50–80% of AMI)
15
In the US, 21.0% of extremely low-income renters experience severe rent burden
16
In the US, 24% of very low-income renters experience severe rent burden
17
In the US, 10.6 million renters were behind on rent as of 2022 (reported survey stat)
18
In the US, 6.1 million renters experienced eviction risk in 2021 (reported)
19
Nationally, 1 in 5 renters faced eviction in the past year (estimate)
20
The US has 4.1 million households on waitlists for public housing and vouchers (HUD estimate)
21
Public housing waitlists included 1.2 million households (HUD)
22
Housing Choice Voucher waitlists included 2.9 million households (HUD)
23
The average length of time on a voucher waitlist was 33 months (HUD)
24
The average voucher wait time decreased by 1 month from 2022 to 2023 (HUD)
25
In the US, 57% of homeless individuals are unsheltered (2020)
26
In 2022, the Point-in-Time homelessness estimate for US was 653,000 people
27
In 2023, HUD reported that 653,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night
28
In the US, 44% of homeless people are in families (children with parents/guardians)
29
In the US, 20% of homeless individuals are veterans
30
In the US, 10% of homeless individuals were chronically homeless in 2020 (share)
Interpretation
Program Impacts, Populations Served, And Demographics Interpretation
In the Program Impacts, Populations Served, And Demographics picture, the need for renters at the very bottom is striking, with extremely low income renters making up 44% of households in need and totaling 11.1 million in 2022, while 51% of Housing Choice Voucher assisted households include children.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Affordable Housing Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/affordable-housing-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Affordable Housing Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/affordable-housing-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Affordable Housing Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/affordable-housing-statistics.
Sources & references
82 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+55 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)