U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2015 American Community Survey

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data from the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS collects U.S. demographic, housing, economic, and commuting data on an annual basis. Approximately 3.5 million households are selected annually from every county in the nation to complete the survey. Annual survey results are available at the state, county, and local levels for jurisdictions with at least 65,000 residents.

The data show that there were 43.7 million renter households in 2015. And of these renter households, 21.4 million (49.1 percent of renter households) were cost burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

Among renter households with annual incomes of less than $20,000, 88.9 percent were cost burdened, and among those with annual incomes between $20,000 and $34,999, 75.3 percent were cost burdened. Only 5.8 percent of renter households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more were cost burdened in 2015.