US states ranked by how much of their income residents spend on housing, from least to most
Tech Insider
Both renters and homeowners in Hawaii spend over half of their income on housing.
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Housing costs can vary across US states based on home prices, energy costs, and local wages.
Hawaii has the highest cost burden, with both renters and owners spending over half of their income.
New York has a gap of over 30 percentage points in housing burdens between renters and homeowners.
Whether you're shopping for a new home or just signed a lease on an apartment, you're no doubt aware of the high cost of housing — and the pressure it puts on tight budgets.
To understand how housing costs affect people across the US, it helps to examine how rent and mortgage payments fit into local living costs, including wages and energy costs.
For years, housing experts have cited keeping housing costs under 30% of monthly income as a rule of thumb for affordability, but in some states, this is far from a reality for many.
A recent WalletHub study examined housing affordability across the US, measuring how much of the median income renters and homeowners in each state spend on housing each month.
The study used data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, the US Census Bureau, Zillow, and WalletHub's in-house research to measure rent, mortgage, and home energy costs across all 50 states, which were then compared to each state's median monthly income to determine the burden of housing costs.
In Hawaii, renters spend an average of 62.5% of their income on housing costs, and homeowners spend 50% on average, the study reported.
While in some states the housing burden of homeowners and renters can be nearly equal — in Oklahoma, renters pay 20.3% and homeowners pay 20.4% of their income on housing costs — in others, there are significant gaps between the costs of renting and owning.
New York leads the gap, with homeowners in the state spending an average of 30.4% on housing while renters spend 61.3%.
"The current social and economic environment is significantly impacting monthly housing bill spending," Andrew Burnstine, an associate professor of business at Lynn University, said in the study. "This means that a larger portion of household budgets is now dedicated to simply keeping a roof overhead."
In 20 states, renters can be considered housing-burdened, or spending over 30% of their income on housing.
We ranked all 50 US states by how much both renters and homeowners spend on housing, on average. We also listed the median household income for each state, as reported on the most recent available American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau, which reflects incomes in 2024.
See where each state falls.
50. Iowa
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 17.26%
Renters' housing cost burden: 20.95%
Median household income: $75,501
49. Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.36%
Renters' housing cost burden: 20.29%
Median household income: $66,148
48. Kansas
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 18.64%
Renters' housing cost burden: 23.55%
Median household income: $75,514
47. South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota.
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 21.18%
Renters' housing cost burden: 21.86%
Median household income: $76,881
46. Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 22.41%
Renters' housing cost burden: 22.05%
Median household income: $87,117
45. Arkansas
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 19.93%
Renters' housing cost burden: 24.87%
Median household income: $62,106
44. Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska, under 20 miles north of Hickman.
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 19.34%
Renters' housing cost burden: 25.91%
Median household income: $76,376
43. Missouri
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.68%
Renters' housing cost burden: 24.58%
Median household income: $71,589
42. North Dakota
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.36%
Renters' housing cost burden: 25.01%
Median household income: $77,871
41. Indiana
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 19.70%
Renters' housing cost burden: 26.49%
Median household income: $71,959
40. West Virginia
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 18.39%
Renters' housing cost burden: 28.32%
Median household income: $60,798
39. Ohio
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 19.68%
Renters' housing cost burden: 27.10%
Median household income: $72,212
38. Alabama
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 21.63%
Renters' housing cost burden: 25.51%
Median household income: $66,659
37. Michigan
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.39%
Renters' housing cost burden: 27.47%
Median household income: $72,389
36. Texas
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 22.63%
Renters' housing cost burden: 25.26%
Median household income: $79,721
35. Virginia
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 24.95%
Renters' housing cost burden: 23.66%
Median household income: $92,090
34. Wisconsin
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 21.50%
Renters' housing cost burden: 27.42%
Median household income: $77,488
33. Kentucky
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.34%
Renters' housing cost burden: 29.14%
Median household income: $64,526
32. Mississippi
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 20.13%
Renters' housing cost burden: 29.45%
Median household income: $59,127
31. Wyoming
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 24.91%
Renters' housing cost burden: 25.03%
Median household income: $75,532
30. Georgia
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 23.87%
Renters' housing cost burden: 26.84%
Median household income: $79,991
29. Alaska
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 24.21%
Renters' housing cost burden: 26.53%
Median household income: $95,665
28. Utah
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 30.01%
Renters' housing cost burden: 21.73%
Median household income: $96,658
27. North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Homeowners' housing cost burden: 24.35%
Renters' housing cost burden: 27.47%
Median household income: $73,958
26. Delaware
Dover, Delaware, was ranked the 10th best small city to start a business in.
