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Seventy-four percent of U.S. residents earning less than $50,000 annually are struggling to keep up with their monthly rent or mortgage payments, causing many to make significant sacrifices just to stay afloat, according to a Redfin survey released Monday.
The survey found that many people in this tax bracket have been forced to cut back on basic expenses. For instance, 43 percent ate out less often, 36 percent took fewer vacations, 25 percent borrowed money and 24 percent skipped meals in order to make ends meet.
Respondents have resorted to other coping measures to manage housing costs, including selling personal belongings (23 percent), delaying or skipping medical treatments (21 percent) or taking on side gigs (15 percent).
Redfin’s survey, conducted by Ipsos, polled 1,802 U.S. adults aged 18 to 65 in September 2024.
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While wages have grown over the past five years, they haven’t kept pace with the soaring rent and home-sale costs over the same period.
Most individuals earning less than $50,000 have opted to rent, though rent prices, which have stabilized somewhat in the past year, remain approximately 20 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. A Redfin survey released last month found that the number of renter households paying less than $1,000 a month hit an all-time low, further limiting affordable housing option.
The challenge is even more pronounced for prospective homebuyers, as median U.S. home prices have surged more than 40 percent since before the pandemic. A report Redfin released over the summer found that a household now needs an annual income of $77,000 to afford the median-priced starter home.
This affordability crisis is particularly tough on younger generations like Gen Z, who tend to earn less than older generations.
More than 70 percent of adult Gen Zers have struggled to afford rent or mortgage payments –by far the highest share of any generation. Of these Gen Zers, 24 percent have sold their belongings, 21 percent have skipped meals 19 percent have moved in with a romantic partner and 10 percent have delayed or chosen not to have children in order to make housing more affordable.
Millennials are also feeling the pressure, with 65 percent of them reporting difficulty affording their housing costs. Among those millennials, 23 percent have skipped meals, 21 percent have delayed or skipped medical care, 19 percent have taken on side jobs and 13 percent have dipped into their retirement savings to keep up with housing payments.
