Across the nation, particularly affecting people of color, millions grapple with similar agonizing decisions amid record-high rent increases, propelled by inflation, a dearth of affordable housing, and the cessation of pandemic relief.
Recent data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies revealed that in 2022, a historic 22.4 million renter households—half of all renters—spent over 30% of their income on rent. Furthermore, the number of affordable units—priced under $600—plummeted to 7.2 million, a decrease of 2.1 million over a decade.
These factors precipitated a surge in eviction filings and a record homelessness rate.
“It’s one of the worst years we’ve ever seen,” remarked Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a senior research associate at the Harvard center. She noted that the level of financially burdened households in 2022 mirrored that of the Great Recession in 2008, when 10 million Americans lost their homes to foreclosure.
Facing a persistent crisis, state and federal lawmakers are prioritizing housing in 2024, proposing a plethora of measures. These include eviction safeguards, zoning reforms, limitations on rent hikes, and substantial investments—amounting to tens of billions of dollars—in housing development.
The most severely impacted are renters earning less than $30,000 annually, who, after covering rent and utilities, are left with a mere average of $310 per month, Airgood-Obrycki noted.