
1 in 4 Renters is Severely Cost-Burdened, 50% of more of their Income on Rent - SQL2219
https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/cost-burdened-renters-2017/
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stadeschuldt
When I was young I have been told that your rent should not more than 1/3 of
your income. This was meant as a rule of thumb. Also this would apply for the
majority of people. If you make 10 million a year and pay 5 million on rent
you probably still have enough left to get by.

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EliRivers
I still run into (elderly) people who expect a mortgage to be about three to
four times a person's salary. When the houses costs eleven times the median
salary, that would require a deposit of seven times a person's salary. The
past was a different (cheaper) world when it came to the largest expense most
people have.

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megaman22
> I still run into (elderly) people who expect a mortgage to be about three to
> four times a person's salary

I'd argue that's still a reasonable target, most places in the US. The pockets
where things are insanely, insanely expensive are smaller than you might think
- especially if you spend time reading the comments here on these kinds of
articles.

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closeparen
I spend 50% of my income on rent. I am not cost burdened in any meaningful
sense: the remaining 50% is more than enough to live on (just not enough to
buy a condo with).

It would be more interesting to know the absolute dollar amounts people have
after taxes and rent, rather than the percentage spent.

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goodoldboys
I think savings rate is much better suited as a primary percentage-based
metric to track on to see how people are doing. For those who have low to 0
savings rates, we can then look at why that is - and most the most likely case
would be high housing costs.

_Those_ people are burdened, whereas you are not (I'm assuming you are able to
save).

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closeparen
I think that depends on the goal you’re saving towards. Mortgage down
payments, college tuition, etc. aren’t that dependent on your income - saving
80% of a low income is likely worse than saving 10% of a high income.

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bootsz
Is it safe to assume that they are defining "income" as "after-tax income"?

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notfromhere
Take home. Otherwise, using gross pay doesn't really mean much since tax rates
are so individualized

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foxyv
Low-Rent, No Jobs - Pick one

