It's getting harder to afford rent in the U.S., even for middle-income families
A new Urban Institute report indicates that middle-income families in the U.S. are increasingly struggling to pay rent, with one in five reporting missed payments in 2025. This trend highlights a broader affordability crisis affecting households beyond the lowest income brackets.
Why it matters
The shift suggests that housing instability is moving up the income ladder, potentially signaling deeper systemic economic pressures on the American middle class.
A growing number of renters in the U.S. are struggling to pay for housing each month, according to new research that found more middle-income families may be defaulting on rent and becoming vulnerable to eviction.
While the country's lowest-income renters have always paid an outsized share of their earnings toward housing costs, a new report from the Urban Institute found that families across all income brackets are facing increasingly stark affordability issues.
One in every five middle-income renters surveyed by the institute said that at some point during 2025, they could not afford to pay the full amount of rent when it was due. That's a significant jump from the year prior, when about 14% reported being unable to pay their rent.
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