New American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that New Hampshire’s renters had considerably lower incomes than homeowners in 2023, and continued to be cost burdened by housing expenses. The estimated median income for households that owned their home was $114,853 in 2023, while renters’ median household income was estimated to be $53,816, less than half of the median income of owner households. Lower incomes increase the likelihood of being cost burdened by housing, including rent and utility expenses. Cost burdened is a term the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to describe households that pay more than 30 percent of their income toward housing. In 2023, approximately 51 percent of renters met the criteria of being housing cost-burdened compared to about 28 percent of owner households paying a mortgage and around 20 percent of owner households without a mortgage.

Learn more in NHFPI’s September 2024 blog: New Hampshire Renters Were Cost-Burdened by Housing at Higher Rates than Homeowners in 2023