New York is among the states with the highest share of renters who are behind on their payments

The rising housing prices, high inflation, and the pandemic-caused financial hardships present new challenges for renters across the country. In some states, the share of tenants who are behind on their monthly payments went up to nearly 25 percent, according to the latest report from MyEListing.com.  

The real estate website found that about 15 percent of Americans, or 6 million households, are struggling to pay their rent. South Dakota, Alabama, and New Jersey have the highest percentage of people who fell behind on rent. In these three states, at least 24 percent of tenants are not caught up with their payments. 

Renters in South Carolina, Connecticut, Delaware, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana are also struggling to pay for their accommodation, and at least 20 percent are behind on rent. New York rounds up the list of top ten states where renting an apartment became a burden for local residents. Surprisingly, California ranked only twenty-first on that list. 

Middle-aged Americans are falling behind on their monthly payments at a higher rate than younger or older generations. The report, which uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, found that 22 percent of renters ages 40 to 54 tend to be more behind on their rent than any other age group. 

The U.S. housing market shows signs of a slowdown. More than 50 major cities, including Miami and Washington D.C., saw a month-over-month decline in the median rental price this September, according to the new report from Zumper. However, the percentage of Americans struggling to keep up with rent has remained consistently high over the past three years.

Resources:

“Rent Payments Burden Americans the Most in These Cities & States,” (MyEListing.com., 2022)

“These are the 10 states where renters are most behind on payments — and high-cost California didn’t make the list,” by Kate Dore (CNBC, 2022)