According to a 2023 study by a national policy think tank, 47% of Oklahoma renters were categorized as cost-burdened. A different tabulation of 2022 U.S. Census data by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University calculated 45% of Oklahoma renters were cost-burdened.

A household is considered cost-burdened if they spend more than 30% of their income on housing needs such as rent, mortgage, and utilities. Severely cost-burdened households spend more than 50% of their income on housing; more than half of Oklahoma’s cost-burdened households were found to be severely cost-burdened.

Renters across the U.S. are at a higher risk of being cost-burdened in comparison to homeowners. Homeowners in only 18 counties across the U.S. were found to have higher average housing burdens than renters. Nineteen percent of Oklahoman homeowners were categorized as cost-burdened.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Prosperity Now Oklahoma Prosperity Now Scorecard

Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies America’s Rental Housing 2024

U.S. Census Bureau Housing Costs a Big Burden on Renters in Largest U.S. Counties

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