Most People Earning Under $50,000 Struggle to Afford Housing. Nearly One-Quarter of Them Have Skipped Meals to Make Their Payments.

• Most U.S. residents who earn less than $50,000 struggle to afford their mortgage or rent payments, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey. 
• Of those earning under $50,000 who struggle to afford housing, 21% have delayed or skipped medical treatments, while 15% have worked a side hustle. 
• Broken down by generation, nearly one-quarter of Gen Zers who struggle to afford housing have sold belongings to help make payments, and 19% have moved in with a romantic partner.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. residents who earn less than $50,000 per year sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford their regular mortgage or rent payments. 

Of those people, nearly one-quarter (24%) report they have skipped meals to afford their monthly housing costs. That’s one of the most commonly cited sacrifices among people in that income bracket, topped only by eating at restaurants less often (43%), taking no or fewer vacations (36%) and borrowing money from family or friends (25%). 

This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in September 2024, fielded to 1,802 U.S. residents aged 18-65. For more details on the survey, see the end of this report. 

Nearly one-quarter (23%) said they have sold belongings to afford housing payments. Just over one in five (21%) have delayed or skipped medical treatments, and 15% have worked a side hustle. 

Both rental and home-sale costs have skyrocketed over the last five years, and while wages have increased over that period, they haven’t risen as much as housing costs. Most people earning less than $50,000 are renters, and while U.S. rents have flattened out over the last year, they are still about 20% higher than before the pandemic. A recent Redfin analysis found the share of U.S. apartments that cost less than $1,000 per month has dropped to its lowest level on record, making it difficult for lower-income Americans to find a low-priced apartment.

The cost of buying a home has increased even more; median U.S. housing costs have risen more than 40% since before the pandemic. Sky-high prices and rising mortgage rates have pushed costs near their record high. In much of the country, people earning under $50,000 cannot afford to buy a home: A Redfin analysis found that as of this summer, a household needs to earn $77,000 per year to afford the median-priced starter home. 

Nearly a Quarter of Gen Zers Who Struggle to Pay For Housing Have Sold Belongings to Make Payments

We also broke down these survey results by generation. Gen Zers typically earn less money than older generations, and many believe it’s harder for them to feel financially secure than it was for their parents at the same age. Just over one-quarter of adults Gen Zers own their home, and they’re entering homebuying age during a housing affordability crisis. 

Roughly seven of every 10 (71%) adult Gen Zers report they sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford their regular mortgage or rent payments, the highest share of any generation. Sixty-five percent of millennials struggle to afford their housing payments. 

Of the Gen Zers who struggle to afford housing, nearly one-quarter (24%) have sold belongings to pay their monthly housing costs. Just over one in five (21%) have skipped meals, while 19% have moved in with a romantic partner and 10% have delayed or decided against having a child. 

Moving on to millennials, nearly one-quarter (23%) of millennials who struggle to pay for housing report they have skipped meals to make their monthly payments. Twenty-one percent have delayed or skipped a medical treatment, while 19% have worked a side hustle and 13% have dipped into retirement savings. 

The high cost of housing was on voters’ minds during this year’s election: A separate Redfin survey found that 38% of people who had voted as of November 1 said housing affordability impacted their presidential pick, and 40% said it impacted who they voted for locally. 

Methodology

The survey findings in this report are from a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in September 2024, fielded to 1,802 U.S. residents aged 18-65. 

The first section of this report focuses on the 621 respondents earning less than $50,000 who answered this question: Which of the following, if any, changes or sacrifices did you make in the past year to afford your monthly housing costs, including mortgage or rent, insurance, parking, heating/cooling/electricity or homeownership association dues? Respondents could select all that apply from a list of options, which are listed in the chart in this report. 

The second section focuses on the same question, broken down by generations. There were 102 responses from Gen Zers to that question, and 448  from millennials.  For this report, we define Gen Zers as those aged 18-27, and millennials as those aged 28-43.

We also included results from the following question in this report: To what extent, if any, do you struggle to afford your regular rent or mortgage payment? Respondents could choose one of the following: I can easily afford them, I sometimes struggle but generally okay, I regularly struggle but sometimes okay, or I struggle greatly to afford them. For the purposes of this report, we considered respondents to be struggling with their rent or mortgage payments if they selected any choice except “I can easily afford them.”

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