A decade after the recession, housing costs ease for homeowners

Christopher Mazur

U.S. Census Bureau

The housing cost burden has eased for U.S. homeowners but remained stagnant for renters since the peak of the recession in 2008.

Recently released data from the American Community Survey estimated the percentage of "burdened" households, or those that spend at least 35% of their monthly income on housing costs, and provides a 10-year look at the trends from 2008 to 2018.

An estimated 40.6% of rental unit residents spent 35% or more of their monthly household income on rent and utility bills last year.

Burden depends on mortgage status

There were 77.7 millio...