Wages have risen but still haven’t closed the persistent gap between renters’ incomes and climbing housing costs.

You may have seen a distorted version of this information making the rounds last week. This version doesn’t adjust fully for inflation and compares everyone’s income to rent costs, rather than looking specifically at renters’ incomes compared to rent costs.

Our data is from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey; 2022 data is from last week’s release. And yes, this data is ACTUALLY inflation adjusted and compares renters’ income to rent costs. 😉

While income and rent have both risen a lot in recent years, renters’ incomes have NOT caught up to rapidly rising rents. There remains a significant gap.

There’s no reason to exaggerate because the bottom line is clear. People’s incomes are not keeping up with rising rents. Policymakers must work to moderate rent costs, raise minimum wage & increase rental assistance. Simply building more units is not enough.

Peggy, do you think this data might be available at the state level?

And how is this actionable, exactly?