It's getting harder to afford rent in the U.S., even for middle-income families

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.