1,057,000 Bay Area households (38% of all Bay Area households) spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024
477,000 Bay Area owner households (30% of Bay Area owner households) spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024
581,000 Bay Area renter households (49% of Bay Area renter households) spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024
Introduction
What portion of household income is spent on housing?
Housing costs in the Bay Area are higher than most other places in the country, though they vary dramatically within the region. At the same time, many of the Bay Area’s workers earn a higher income than those in similar jobs elsewhere. The relationship between household income and housing costs is an excellent gauge of regional affordability – one of the most critical issues facing the Bay Area.
Regional Performance
Many Bay Area households struggle with the cost of housing. Renters often pay an outsize share of their income on rent.
The share of Bay Area households excessively burdened by housing costs (paying at least 30% of their income on housing) actually decreased during the 2010s. Between 2010 and 2019, the share of cost-burdened renters decreased from 51% to 45%, while the share of cost-burdened homeowners decreased from 41% to 28%.
In the early 2020s, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of cost-burdened households started to increase, reversing the trend from the 2010s. From 2019 to 2024, the share of cost-burdened renters increased by 3.6 percentage points, while for homeowners it increased by 2.1 percentage points.
Between 2005 and 2024, the share of cost-burdened renter households peaked in 2012 at 52%
From 2019 to 2024, the share of cost-burdened renter households increased by 3.6 percentage points (50,000 renter households)
Regional Distribution
Low- and moderate-income households are heavily cost-burdened by the region’s housing market.
Most low-income households in the Bay Area spend too much on housing, no matter where they live. Even households with moderate incomes earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year (19% of Bay Area households) are struggling. In 2024, 64% of these households spent at least 30% of their income on housing. Almost one in four were severely cost-burdened, spending at least half of their income on housing.
Affordability is even worse for low-income households earning less than $50,000 a year (18% of Bay Area households). In 2024, 85% of these households were cost-burdened in 2024, and more than two-thirds (340,000 households in total) were severely cost-burdened, leaving them with no more than $25,000 annually after housing to cover all other expenses. Housing only becomes more affordable for households earning over $100,000 a year (63% of Bay Area households). In 2024, only 16% of these households were cost-burdened, and 57% of them spent less than 20% of their income on housing.
of Bay Area households with incomes of $50k to $100k spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024
of Bay Area households with incomes of $100k or more spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024
Local Focus
The proportion of households struggling with housing costs rose across all Bay Area counties during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2024, this proportion remained lower than it was at the peak of the Great Recession in 2009.
Between 2010 and 2019, the share of cost-burdened households declined in all Bay Area counties. These declines ranged from seven to 12 percentage points, with Marin and Santa Clara counties seeing smaller improvements (-7.2 and -8.9 percentage points), and San Mateo and San Francisco counties seeing larger improvements (-10.8 and -12.1 percentage points).
From 2019 to 2024 – during and after the COVID-19 pandemic – the share of cost-burdened households increased in all counties in the region. In 2024, 36% of San Francisco County households were cost-burdened, compared to 31% in 2019. This increase in housing cost-burden is second only to Solano County, which increased from 36% to 45% over the same time period.
of owner households in Napa County are cost-burdened, the highest share in the region for owners based on 2024 data
of renter households in Solano County are cost-burdened, the highest share in the region for renters based on 2024 data
Sources & Methodology
The counties and region-level datasets combine county-level American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year and 5-year data on housing affordability for renter and owner households (Tables B25070 and B25091 respectively) into a long-format dataset broken down by year, county, household type and housing burden bucket. Note that all 2020 data are 5-year estimates because the ACS did not report 1-year data for 2020.
Housing burden buckets include:
- Less than 20% of income
- 20% to 30% of income
- 30% to 50% of income
- 50% or more of income
Income breakdown data is only provided for the latest available year (2024) as it is not possible to compare consistent inflation-adjusted income brackets over time, given Census data limitations. The counties and region-level datasets combine county-level American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year and 5-year data on housing affordability by income for renter and owner households (Tables B25074 and B25095 respectively) into a long-format dataset broken down by year, county, household type, household income bracket and housing burden bucket. Note that Marin, Napa and Solano were missing ACS 1-year renter data for 2024, and Napa was missing ACS 1-year owner data for 2024, so 5-year data was used to supplement the missing 1-year data.
Income brackets include:
- Less than $10,000
- $10,000 to $20,000
- $20,000 to $35,000
- $35,000 to $50,000
- $50,000 to $75,000
- $75,000 to $100,000
- $100,000 or more
Housing burden buckets include:
- Less than 20% of income
- 20% to 25% of income
- 25% to 30% of income
- 30% to 35% of income
- 35% to 40% of income
- 40% to 50% of income
- 50% or more of income
Note that any of the following dynamics can cause a decrease in the proportion of cost-burdened households in a given geographic area:
- The incomes of households already living in the area remained generally the same while housing costs fell, reducing housing cost burden for households who were already living in the area;
- The incomes of households already living in the area rose while housing costs remained generally the same, reducing housing cost burden for households who were already living in the area;
- Lower-income households moved away from the area while housing costs remained generally the same, leaving fewer cost-burdened households in the area;
- Higher-income households moved into the area while housing costs remained generally the same, resulting in more non-cost-burdened households in the area. The income distribution changed such that housing burden now reflects a richer population base (i.e. “gentrification” and displacement of lower-income populations).
Because ACS data is not panel data (i.e. it does not track the same households from year to year), these metrics alone cannot confirm which of these dynamics are occurring.
U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey
Table B25070 (2005–2024)
Table B25074 (2024)
Table B25091 (2005–2024)
Table B25095 (2024)