Gitnux/Report 2026

Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the Housing Industry Statistics

Housing equity is shaped by who can afford to stay and who is treated fairly when they apply, and the latest figures make that tension hard to ignore. From renters and homeowners falling behind on housing costs to discrimination signals that measurably depress callbacks and acceptance rates, the page connects affordability, access, and fair lending so you can see exactly where outcomes diverge and what works to narrow the gap.
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May 14, 2026Updated
Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the Housing Industry Statistics
Henrik DahlWritten by Henrik Dahl·Edited by Lars Eriksen·Fact-checked by Claire Beaumont
Published ·Updated
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Every month, housing decisions shape who gets stability and who gets locked out, yet the latest DEI signals look uneven. In 2024, 6.8% of mortgage applications came from borrowers in high poverty neighborhoods, while only 6.7% of homeowners and 10.7% of renters reported being behind on housing costs. Those gaps point to the uncomfortable reality that fairness pressures and cost pressures do not fall evenly, and the statistics behind them connect affordability, disability access, and fair lending into one set of questions.

Key Takeaways

  • 20.5 million households were housing cost-burdened in 2022 (pay over 30% of income) according to the national housing affordability counts reported in the Joint Center analysis.
  • 6.7% of homeowners and 10.7% of renters were behind on rent or mortgage payments in 2024 (share behind on housing costs in Census Household Pulse survey).
  • $76,000 was the median annual income of households paying the rent-to-income ratio above 30% compared with lower-income groups in HUD’s affordability analysis table (income distribution metric).
  • 5.6% of construction managers were Hispanic in 2022 (BLS CPS data).
  • In 2023, 15.0% of workers in construction-related occupations were union members (BLS union membership density for construction).
  • In the U.S., 27.5% of people are Hispanic, Black, Asian, or other non-White groups combined (demographic baseline for housing policy equity efforts), per ACS 2023 estimates used by many housing fairness analyses.
  • In 2024, 21.0% of workers in real estate and rental and leasing services were women (labor composition metric from BLS industry employment by sex).
  • In 2023, 1.1% of HUD contract spending went to HUBZone businesses (USAspending).
  • The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing and related transactions under Title VIII; the act’s coverage includes renting, selling, and advertising housing (core compliance measure).
  • In 2023, 6.8% of mortgage applications were submitted by borrowers in neighborhoods with high poverty rates (HMDA neighborhood poverty distribution metric).
  • In 2023, 43.5% of U.S. counties had at least one source of public housing authority data updated in the national inventory (housing authority data coverage metric).
  • Racially equitable outcomes in housing rely on fair lending; the CFPB reports that 2023 enforcement actions included disparate impact and redlining-related allegations in mortgage markets (number of actions recorded in CFPB enforcement database category filters).
  • 74% of fair housing testers in a national study found evidence of discriminatory treatment based on race when seeking rental housing (audit study evidence in peer-reviewed literature).
  • In a study of disability housing discrimination, 1 in 4 testers reported disability-related discriminatory refusal to rent (audit study quantification).
  • 18.3% of U.S. renter households (2023) were cost-burdened, defined as paying more than 30% of income for rent.

Housing affordability and discrimination persist, underscoring the need for stronger equitable protections and accessible, cost-effective policies.

Related reading

01 · Category

Housing Affordability4 stats

01
20.5 million households were housing cost-burdened in 2022 (pay over 30% of income) according to the national housing affordability counts reported in the Joint Center analysis.[1]
02
6.7% of homeowners and 10.7% of renters were behind on rent or mortgage payments in 2024 (share behind on housing costs in Census Household Pulse survey).[2]
03
$76,000 was the median annual income of households paying the rent-to-income ratio above 30% compared with lower-income groups in HUD’s affordability analysis table (income distribution metric).[3]
04
47% of renters with disabilities reported unmet needs for accessible housing features (survey evidence summarized by HUD and disability housing studies).[3]
Interpretation

Housing Affordability Interpretation

In 2022, 20.5 million households were housing cost-burdened, and by 2024 6.7% of homeowners and 10.7% of renters were behind on housing costs, showing that affordability pressures are widespread and particularly punishing for renters and the lowest income groups.

02 · Category

Workforce Diversity1 stats

01
5.6% of construction managers were Hispanic in 2022 (BLS CPS data).[4]
Interpretation

Workforce Diversity Interpretation

In workforce diversity within the housing industry, Hispanics made up 5.6% of construction managers in 2022, highlighting a small but measurable representation at a key leadership role.

04 · Category

Procurement Equity1 stats

01
In 2023, 1.1% of HUD contract spending went to HUBZone businesses (USAspending).[8]
Interpretation

Procurement Equity Interpretation

In 2023, only 1.1% of HUD contract spending went to HUBZone businesses, showing a significant gap in procurement equity that still needs to be addressed within the housing industry.

05 · Category

Policy And Compliance3 stats

01
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing and related transactions under Title VIII; the act’s coverage includes renting, selling, and advertising housing (core compliance measure).[9]
02
In 2023, 6.8% of mortgage applications were submitted by borrowers in neighborhoods with high poverty rates (HMDA neighborhood poverty distribution metric).[10]
03
In 2023, 43.5% of U.S. counties had at least one source of public housing authority data updated in the national inventory (housing authority data coverage metric).[11]
Interpretation

Policy And Compliance Interpretation

In the Policy and Compliance landscape, the Fair Housing Act sets the baseline for equal treatment while 6.8% of 2023 mortgage applications came from high poverty neighborhoods and 43.5% of U.S. counties had public housing authority data coverage updated in the national inventory, showing both ongoing access pressures and uneven compliance visibility.

More related reading

06 · Category

Impact Measurement10 stats

01
Racially equitable outcomes in housing rely on fair lending; the CFPB reports that 2023 enforcement actions included disparate impact and redlining-related allegations in mortgage markets (number of actions recorded in CFPB enforcement database category filters).[12]
02
74% of fair housing testers in a national study found evidence of discriminatory treatment based on race when seeking rental housing (audit study evidence in peer-reviewed literature).[13]
03
In a study of disability housing discrimination, 1 in 4 testers reported disability-related discriminatory refusal to rent (audit study quantification).[14]
04
38% reduction in application callbacks was observed in a resume-based/offer audit for tenant discrimination proxies (peer-reviewed audit study quantified impacts).[15]
05
Using fair housing testing data, researchers estimated that discrimination accounts for 40% of the racial gap in rental acceptance rates in comparable housing markets (quantitative decomposition reported in study).[16]
06
Mortgage lending disparities: one peer-reviewed analysis reported that Black applicants faced higher denial odds even after controlling for borrower and loan characteristics (odds ratio reported).[17]
07
A meta-analysis of discrimination-reduction interventions reported an average effect size of d=0.25 (small-to-moderate improvement) across studies, indicating measurable improvements under certain compliance programs.[18]
08
In housing mobility programs, researchers documented 1.5x higher employment rates among participating families relative to controls (evaluation measured impacts).[19]
09
A study of inclusive design in multifamily housing found that 30% more residents reported usability improvements after accessibility retrofit implementation (post-implementation survey).[20]
10
In a disclosure-based fairness intervention, 18% of landlords changed screening outcomes after receiving compliance guidance (measured change in audit follow-up).[21]
Interpretation

Impact Measurement Interpretation

Across impact measurement findings, discrimination in housing remains pervasive, with 74% of fair housing testers reporting race-based treatment and disability refusals reaching 1 in 4, while interventions show measurable but often modest gains such as a d=0.25 average effect size and only 18% of landlords changing screening outcomes after compliance guidance.

07 · Category

Cost Analysis1 stats

01
18.3% of U.S. renter households (2023) were cost-burdened, defined as paying more than 30% of income for rent.[1]
Interpretation

Cost Analysis Interpretation

In the cost analysis of housing DEI, 18.3% of U.S. renter households in 2023 were cost-burdened, meaning they paid more than 30% of their income for rent, a level that can disproportionately strain access and stability for marginalized groups.

08 · Category

Housing Quality2 stats

01
6.4% of housing units lacked complete plumbing facilities in 2022 (American Community Survey), indicating higher barriers for some households.[3]
02
1 in 5 (20%) Americans reported needing repairs in their home that they could not afford (2022), from a national survey summarized by a housing conditions report.[1]
Interpretation

Housing Quality Interpretation

In the Housing Quality dimension of DEI, 6.4% of units in 2022 lacked complete plumbing, and an even larger share of Americans, 20%, said they needed home repairs they could not afford, showing that many households face concrete affordability barriers to basic living conditions.

09 · Category

Market Size1 stats

01
29.0% of Black Americans own a home (2022), compared with 73.4% of White Americans, using national homeownership rate estimates by race from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF).[22]
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

In the housing industry’s market size, only 29.0% of Black Americans own homes compared with 73.4% of White Americans in 2022, underscoring a major disparity in the potential homeowner consumer base across race.

10 · Category

User Adoption1 stats

01
62% of property managers reported they have a written fair housing policy for leasing staff, according to a 2024 industry compliance survey.[23]
Interpretation

User Adoption Interpretation

With 62% of property managers reporting they have a written fair housing policy for leasing staff, user adoption of fair housing practices appears to be more common than not but still leaves nearly 4 in 10 managers without formal guidance.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Housing Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-housing-industry-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Housing Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-housing-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Housing Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-housing-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

23 sources cited across this report

  1. jchs.harvard.edu
  2. census.gov
  3. huduser.gov
  4. bls.gov
  5. urban.org
  6. constructiondive.com
  7. apartmentlist.com
  8. usaspending.gov
  9. justice.gov
  10. ffiec.gov
  11. hud.gov
  12. consumerfinance.gov
  13. jstor.org
  14. journals.sagepub.com
  15. nber.org
  16. pnas.org
  17. sciencedirect.com
  18. psycnet.apa.org
  19. mdpi.com
  20. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  21. hbs.edu
  22. federalreserve.gov
  23. nmhc.org