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Oklahoma Value:
Percentage of households with one or more adults for which housing costs are 30% or more of household income
Oklahoma Rank:
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Percentage of households with one or more adults for which housing costs are 30% or more of household income
US Value: 31.5%
Top State(s): West Virginia: 21.1%
Bottom State(s): California: 40.7%
Definition: Percentage of households with one or more adults for which housing costs are 30% or more of household income
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2022
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Households are considered cost-burdened when housing costs comprise more than 30% of household income. High rent burdens can strain household budgets and cause individuals to fall behind on bills or debt payments. Cost-burdened households may have difficulty affording other basic necessities such as health care, food and heat. Families that struggle to afford housing may face eviction, foreclosure and homelessness. Households with housing instability are exposed to increased stress that affects physical and mental health. A study found that living in unaffordable housing is associated with poorer self-rated physical and mental health, hypertension and arthritis. Additionally, men and women with lower incomes have a lower life expectancy than wealthier individuals.
Median rent costs in the United States increased by 15% between 2001 and 2019, while median income only increased 3.4%. In 2021, 40.6 million American households spent more than 30% of their income on housing, including nearly half of all renters. The burden was notably high in low-income areas and areas where housing is more expensive.
The prevalence of cost-burdened households is higher among:
Rental assistance and income support programs are essential to promote equitable housing opportunities. The White House’s Housing Supply Action Plan aims to minimize the burden of housing costs by constructing and preserving rental housing for low- and moderate-income families. Increasing the existing housing supply can keep housing costs down and benefit all households regardless of income level.
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps has identified strategies for improving access to and affordability of housing from the community to the federal level. Rental vouchers, subsidized housing and utility assistance programs can help cost-burdened individuals afford safe and healthy housing:
Healthy People 2030 has a goal to reduce the proportion of families that spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Braveman, Paula, Mercedes Dekker, Susan Egerter, Tabashir Sadegh-Nobari, and Craig Pollack. “Housing and Health.” Issue Brief #7: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, May 2011. https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2011/05/housing-and-health.html.
Gibson, Marcia, Mark Petticrew, Clare Bambra, Amanda J. Sowden, Kath E. Wright, and Margaret Whitehead. “Housing and Health Inequalities: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews of Interventions Aimed at Different Pathways Linking Housing and Health.” Health & Place 17, no. 1 (January 2011): 175–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.09.011.
Swope, Carolyn B., and Diana Hernández. “Housing as a Determinant of Health Equity: A Conceptual Model.” Social Science & Medicine 243 (December 2019): 112571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112571.
Vega, William A., and Steven P. Wallace. “Affordable Housing: A Key Lever to Community Health for Older Americans.” American Journal of Public Health 106, no. 4 (April 2016): 635–36. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303034.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
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