1 in 4 U.S. Renters Use Half of Income to Pay for Housing

Average hourly wages have risen 2.1 percent, while rental prices have increased 3.7 percent in the past 12 months

Josh Boak / AP

(WASHINGTON)—More than one in four U.S. renters have to use at least half their family income to pay for housing and utilities.

That’s the finding of an analysis of Census data by Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit that helps finance affordable housing. The number of such households has jumped 26 percent to 11.25 million since 2007.