8.5 Million Low-Income Households Paid More Than Half Of Income For Rent Or Lived In Severely Inadequate Conditions In 2021

About 44.1% of very low-income (VLI) households in 2021 had what the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classifies as “worst-case housing needs” because they paid more than half of monthly income for rent or lived in severely inadequate conditions, but are not receiving any government housing assistance. The share of households with worst-case housing needs has increased over the past decade from the previous high of 44.0% in 2011. In total, in 2021, 8.5 million households had worst-case housing needs.

Very low-income (VLI) households are those experiencing worst-case housing . . .