Sacrifices People Make to Afford the Rent

• 26% of renters say that affording their rent is difficult or very difficult – and 66% make at least one sacrifice to afford their rent.
• The most common renter sacrifices are reducing spending on entertainment (38%) and picking up additional work (25%).
• A smaller percentage of renters make more serious sacrifices to afford their rent: 9% report postponing or cancelling health services and 11% reduce or eliminate saving for retirement.

The U.S. median rent now consumes 27.8% of the country's median income – nearing the 30% tipping point above which rent is considered unaffordable and the 32% tipping point above which communities can expect a more rapid increase in homelessness.

What that looks like at the individual renter[1] level is sacrifice: According to the 2019 Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report, most renters (66%) make at least one sacrifice to afford their rent, from reducing spending on entertainment (38%) to cutting back on insurance coverage (6%).

Renters that go over budget are even more likely to make sacrifices: 80% make at least one. Out West, where rental markets are more competitive, renters are more likely to postpone or cancel health services (13%) and trim their savings towards a down payment (16%) than renters as a whole (xx% and xx%, respectively).

Younger renters make more sacrifices

Younger renters are more likely to report a financial sacrifice to afford their rent: 75% of Gen Z renters report making at least one sacrifice, as do 69% of millennial renters – both higher than 60% of Gen X and 53% of boomer and silent generation renters. Younger renters also are more likely to pick up additional work, like more hours or taking on an additional job: 30% of Gen Z, 28% of Millennial and 22% of Gen X renters report doing so, compared to only 13% of boomer and silent generation renters.

Despite making more sacrifices than their older counterparts, Gen Z renters are less likely to say that affording their rent is difficult or very difficult: only 18% say so, compared to 28% of millennial and Gen X renters and 29% of boomer and silent generation renters. This gap may be because 20% of Gen Z renters report getting help with their rent from parents or another family member.

Renting parents make tradeoffs

Having children at home makes a big difference when it comes to financial sacrifices: 70% of renters with children at home report making sacrifices, compared to 59% of renters without children. They're more likely to pick up additional work (28%), reduce monthly payments or technology services (23%), and cut savings toward a down payment (13%), college savings (9%) and insurance coverage (7%).

Living closer to the edge than homeowners

Sacrifices aside, renters are financially strapped enough that only 51% say they could accommodate a $1,000 expense, compared to 80% of homeowners. Older renters are less likely to say they could afford such an expense: Only 38% of boomer and silent generation renters, compared to 60% of Gen Z and 54% of Millennial renters.

The trend is reversed for homeowners: 83% of boomer and silent generation homeowners say they could afford the expense, compared to 73% of gen z and millennial homeowners. It's no surprise, then, that the typical homeowner earns $75,000[2] a year in household income, double the typical $37,500 for a renter.

 

[1] Renters refer to households that moved in the past year and rent their home

[2] Zillow analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2017.

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