Housing Cost Burden - Children in United States

United States

Safe and stable housing is an essential social determinant of health. According to most guidelines, households should spend no more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. Spending more can be a financial burden, making it difficult to afford other fundamental needs such as adequate health insurance, healthy foods, utility bills, education and reliable transportation. Housing has become less affordable in recent years as rental costs have risen more quickly than incomes. Between 2001 and 2019, median rent increased by 15%, but median renter household income rose only 3.4% over the same period.

Families that struggle to afford housing may face eviction, foreclosure and homelessness. Households with housing instability may experience increased stress that affects physical and mental health, particularly for children, resulting in lower cognitive achievement.

Living in a severely cost-burdened household — meaning housing costs exceed 50% of household income — is associated with lower math and reading scores in children. Cognitive achievement declines steeply once housing costs exceed 60% of a family’s income.

The prevalence of cost-burdened households with children is higher among:

• Renters compared with homeowners. Renters also historically have lower incomes than homeowners.
• Black and Hispanic households compared with non-Hispanic white households.

Research shows that public housing is associated with immediate and significant reductions in housing cost burden on households with children. Reducing housing costs allow families to use their income on other valuable items such as food, school and job-related expenses.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends tenant-based housing vouchers to help those with low incomes pay rent.

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit, designed to benefit low- to moderate-income workers and households with children respectively, have been shown to improve long-term health outcomes, educational attainment and future earnings for recipients. Expansions for both credits went into effect in 2021 and are expected to raise 4 million children above the poverty line.

Healthy People 2030 has a goal to reduce the proportion of families that spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

Duncan, Greg, and Suzanne Le Menestrel, eds. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.17226/25246.

Gold, Sarah. “Does Public Housing Reduce Housing Cost Burden among Low-Income Families with Children?” Journal of Children and Poverty 26, no. 1 (January 2, 2020): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2019.1682754.

Hess, Chris, Gregg Colburn, Ryan Allen, and Kyle Crowder. “Cumulative Housing Cost Burden Exposures and Disadvantages to Children’s Well-Being and Health.” Social Science Research 119 (March 2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.102984.

Marr, Chuck, Kris Cox, and Arloc Sherman. “Recovery Package Should Permanently Include Families With Low Incomes in Full Child Tax Credit.” Washington, D.C.: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, September 7, 2021. https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/recovery-package-should-permanently-include-families-with-low-incomes-in-full.

Newman, Sandra, and C. Scott Holupka. “Housing Affordability And Children’s Cognitive Achievement.” Health Affairs 35, no. 11 (November 2016): 2092–99. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0718.