The California rent burden remains severe, with more than one in four renter households spending over half their income on housing. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau reported by the Los Angeles Daily News, 27 percent of renter households in California devoted more than 50 percent of their income to rent and utilities in 2024.
That share is above the national average of 24 percent and places California third behind Florida at 29 percent and Nevada at 27 percent. California is the nation’s largest rental market with 6.1 million renter households; about 1.6 million of them spend at least half their income on housing—the highest number of severely burdened renter households in the country. Nationally, 10.9 million of 46.1 million renter households spend half their income on rent, and California alone accounts for 15 percent of that total. Texas (about 1.0 million households), New York (940,000), Florida (850,000), and Pennsylvania (380,000) follow.
The state’s high rental prices are a key factor. California’s median monthly rent was $2,104, about 60 percent higher than the national median of $1,319, the highest level among all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Pandemic-era demand for larger homes pushed rents sharply higher, and prices remain elevated; since 2019, rents in California have increased by 30 percent.
Experts note that when rent consumes this much of a household budget, families cut back on essentials such as food, healthcare, and education. They warn this pressure can delay wealth-building for younger residents by making it harder to save for a down payment.
There are modest signs of easing. Realtor.com reported in August that rents declined year over year in most Southern California metro areas. The median rent in the Los Angeles metro, which includes Long Beach and Anaheim, was $2,818, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier. The Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario region fell 4.8 percent to $2,089, and the San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad area declined 4.9 percent to $2,720. By contrast, rents in the nation’s most expensive metro, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, rose 1.6 percent to $3,413.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
