Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Have housing costs risen faster than incomes over the past decade?

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

Over the past decade in the U.S., the increase in the cost of housing has outpaced incomes.

According to census data, average rents increased by 36% between 2010–2019, and the median home price jumped by 31% during the same period. Median household income increased 27% over the same period. In some major cities, housing costs have climbed at much faster rates during the decade. In Seattle rents spiked 77% while home prices jumped 95%. In Atlanta, rents went up by 65%, with home prices increasing by 98%.

Looking over an even longer term, "nationwide rents have increased at twice the rate of household incomes since 1960, making saving for a down payment increasingly difficult," according to a researcher at an online real-estate platform. Her report found that only 16 of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas were "affordable" in March 2019, based on standard measures of income ratios.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

RentCafe: The renters' decade, 2010-2019

Pew Research Center: For most US workers, real wages have barely budged in decades

Clever: Changes in home prices and household income

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.