Where Are Renters 35-44 Feeling the Most Financial Strain? Census Data Highlights Key States

Almost half (48%) of American renters ages 35-44 are cost-burdened due to their housing costs, according to a new Investopedia analysis of Census data that was released in December 2025.

That’s more than double the cost-burdened rate for homeowners the same age (22%), and it’s happening during the years when many Americans juggle child care expenses, car payments, and student loan debts following them into midlife. (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines “cost-burdened” as spending 30% or more of household income on housing.)

National figures suggest it’s one crisis. The state data below shows it’s many.

Where Renters Are Struggling the Most

Florida tops the list: 61% of renters ages 35–44 there are cost-burdened. Nevada and Connecticut follow close behind, at 55% and 53% respectively.

Rental affordability isn’t just a problem in higher-cost states. In Tennessee, where renters in this age group earn a mean income of just $67,562 (over $20,000 a year less than the nationwide mean, $88,541), half are cost-burdened—evidence that the affordability problem isn’t just in high-cost states. For many Americans, relatively modest rents are outpacing even more modest wages.

North Dakota has the lowest percentage of renters in this bracket who are cost-burdened at 23%, followed by Kansas at 32% and Alaska at 35%.

Many renters are saving toward a down payment to buy their first home. But spending 30% or more of your income on someone else’s property makes getting a down payment together that much harder.

Renters’ incomes are a big part of the story. Investopedia‘s analysis found that renters ages 35–44 earn a mean household income of $88,541. Homeowners the same age earn almost double that ($164,267). That gap doesn’t just affect what people can afford today. Cost-burdened renters have less left over for retirement savings, an emergency fund, and other financial cushions Americans need as they enter midlife.

Homeowners, meanwhile, are building equity with every mortgage payment.

When Rent Takes Half of Everything

Those who spend 50% or more of their income on housing are considered severely cost-burdened. For these renters, there’s comparatively little left over for groceries, child care, car payments and other bills.

Nationally, about a quarter (23%) of renters ages 35–44 are severely cost-burdened. About 29% of renters in this age group in Florida are severely burdened, as are 27% in Nevada and 26% in both California and Connecticut. In Tennessee, a severely cost-burdened renter earning the mean income for this age group, $67,562, spends more than $2,800 a month on rent and utilities alone.

The quest for homeownership dominates policy debates about mortgage rates and housing supply. But the most recent Census data shows that for many Americans in midlife, the more urgent issue is whether renting leaves enough room to build any long-term security before they can get there.