33%

WHERE DO WE STAND?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recommends that households pay no more than 30% of total income on housing. More than 1 out of 3 households in Travis County do not meet this affordability threshold. The number of households who were housing cost burdened in Travis County in 2022 was 193,519, compared to 167,617 in 2018 (a 15% increase).

Households in the City of Austin, Travis County, and the Austin MSA are cost-burdened at higher rates compared to the nation as a whole.

A CLOSER LOOK

Renter households are nearly twice as likely as owner households to be cost-burdened. In Travis County in 2022, 45% of renters were housing cost-burdened while 22% of owners were housing cost-burdened.

RENTER COST BURDEN

Low-income renters are most impacted. According to census data, 86% of renters with a household income less than $35,000 a year are housing cost-burdened in Travis County. Approximately 72% of Travis County households with incomes below $35,000 are “severely cost-burdened,” which means they pay more than half their total household income for housing.