Profiles of Housing Cost Burden in the United States

Abstract

In this study, the ordered logistic regression model indicates that renters suffer a greater housing cost burden than homeowners and that the lower the income of the household, the larger the portion of income that is spent for housing. Further, the model also shows that the burden of high housing costs falls disproportionately on certain groups of American households. Compared to the reference group, two single-risk groups (Asian-American households and households with three or more children) and two dual-risk groups (female-headed households with three or more children and minority households with three or more children) tend to have a higher risk of excessive housing costs. Elderly households and three elderly-related groups (female-headed elderly households, minority elderly households, and female-headed minority elderly households), however, tend to have a lower risk of housing cost burden than other households. The housing cost burden of the reference group is comparable to the housing cost burden of each of the following groups: for single female-headed households; Black households; Hispanic households; and female-headed minority households. The policy implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.