High housing costs, rising rental prices, persistent inflation and an end to eviction moratoriums have many Americans worried about keeping a roof over their heads. We found that nationwide, nearly 28% of people (1 in 4) who are behind on payments are worried they will face foreclosure or eviction in the next two months.

Key findings:

  • 21% of people feel they will be evicted in the next two months
  • 15% of people are behind on their rent
  • 7% of people are worried they will soon face foreclosure
  • 4% of people are behind on their mortgage payments
  • Vermont, North Dakota and Kansas have the highest numbers of people facing foreclosure
  • Georgia, Louisiana and Vermont have the highest numbers of people facing eviction

Nationwide, housing costs have risen by nearly 70% in the last decade. Income, meanwhile, is up only 30% over the same time period. Combine this disparity with record inflation and we have a situation where housing has simply become unaffordable for many people.

Our team of analysts found that 7% of Americans are worried they will soon lose their house and another 4% are behind on their mortgage payments. Those numbers, however, vary significantly from state to state. More than 90% of people who are behind on their mortgage payments in Vermont fear they will soon lose their home, compared to 2% in Maine.

FORECLOSURE FEARS IN EACH STATE
State % facing foreclosure % behind on mortgage payments
Vermont 93% 2%
North Dakota 44% 0%
Kansas 40% 2%
New York 40% 3%
Illinois 36% 3%
Oklahoma 31% 1%
West Virginia 28% 3%
Iowa 24% 4%
Indiana 21% 2%
Florida 19% 5%
Pennsylvania 18% 7%
Rhode Island 18% 5%
Washington 17% 2%
Oregon 16% 2%
Ohio 16% 2%
Missouri 15% 3%
South Dakota 14% 2%
Arkansas 13% 7%
Nevada 11% 2%
New Mexico 11% 7%
Maryland 11% 4%
Kentucky 9% 2%
Nebraska 8% 1%
Utah 7% 1%
Massachusetts 7% 4%
Virginia 7% 2%
Wyoming 7% 2%
Wisconsin 7% 3%
Colorado 6% 4%
Tennessee 5% 4%
Delaware 5% 3%
Alabama 5% 6%
Arizona 4% 3%
New Jersey 4% 4%
Connecticut 4% 2%
Louisiana 4% 5%
North Carolina 4% 5%
Mississippi 3% 10%
Alaska 3% 5%
Minnesota 3% 3%
Texas 2% 6%
Hawaii 2% 4%
Michigan 2% 3%
South Carolina 1% 7%
California 1% 5%
Georgia 0% 7%
Montana 0% 3%
Maine Not available 2%
Idaho Not available 2%
New Hampshire Not available 2%
U.S. Average 7% 4%

While many people are worried about losing their homes, the threat of eviction looms even larger. Rental prices are rising in suburban areas, and we found 16 states where more than 25% of people say they can’t currently pay rent or are worried they won’t be able to in the next two months.

THREAT OF EVICTION IN EACH STATE
State % at risk of eviction
Georgia 65%
Louisiana 61%
Vermont 44%
Delaware 37%
Florida 36%
Indiana 36%
Utah 35%
Maryland 34%
New Jersey 33%
Missouri 32%
Arkansas 32%
Oregon 29%
Oklahoma 27%
Hawaii 26%
Kentucky 25%
Montana 25%
Alabama 24%
Michigan 22%
Virginia 22%
North Dakota 21%
California 21%
Texas 20%
Wyoming 20%
Iowa 18%
Rhode Island 18%
Connecticut 17%
Massachusetts 16%
Nevada 15%
Idaho 15%
Nebraska 15%
Pennsylvania 14%
Ohio 13%
Illinois 12%
Tennessee 12%
Colorado 11%
South Carolina 10%
Washington 9%
New Mexico 8%
Wisconsin 7%
Mississippi 7%
Kansas 6%
Alaska 6%
Arizona 6%
New Hampshire 6%
South Dakota 5%
North Carolina 5%
West Virginia 3%
Maine 2%
New York 0%
Minnesota 0%
U.S. average 21%

The threat of eviction is even more real for people who are already behind on their rent. We found that 30% of people are behind on their rent in Louisiana and 15% of people are behind on their rent nationwide. Vermont had the lowest percentage of people who are behind on rent at around 4%.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE BEHIND ON RENT IN EACH STATE
State % behind on rent
Louisiana 30%
West Virginia 28%
New Mexico 21%
Florida 19%
North Carolina 19%
Kentucky 19%
Michigan 19%
Nevada 18%
New York 18%
Illinois 18%
New Jersey 18%
Georgia 17%
Connecticut 17%
Maryland 17%
Hawaii 17%
Mississippi 16%
Alabama 16%
Virginia 16%
Wyoming 16%
California 16%
Arkansas 15%
South Carolina 15%
Nebraska 15%
Utah 14%
Ohio 14%
Massachusetts 13%
Rhode Island 13%
Missouri 13%
Arizona 12%
Montana 12%
Texas 12%
Alaska 11%
Wisconsin 11%
Oregon 11%
Pennsylvania 10%
Minnesota 10%
Delaware 9%
Washington 9%
Tennessee 9%
Iowa 9%
Maine 9%
Indiana 9%
New Hampshire 8%
Kansas 8%
South Dakota 7%
Idaho 7%
Colorado 7%
North Dakota 6%
Oklahoma 6%
Vermont 4%
U.S. Average 15%

Our analysis also found that people of color are having a harder time paying their mortgages and rent. Black and Hispanic communities are significantly more likely to be facing eviction and foreclosure or be behind on their mortgages. We also found that while the financial position of Black and Hispanic communities has stayed largely the same throughout the pandemic, white communities have seen their risk of eviction or foreclosure decline.

Eviction or foreclosure rates by gender  
Eviction or foreclosure rates by race/ethnicity  

As troublesome as the data presented in this study is, America’s struggle with affordable housing is a problem that may soon get worse. An increase in unemployment benefits, stimulus checks and a moratorium on evictions kept many people in their homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those programs appear to be winding down.

President Joe Biden has proposed a $640 billion plan to address a shortage in affordable housing, but the question is, will that be enough?

Methodology

Foreclosure, rent and mortgage payment information was compiled using data from the United States Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Surveys. Our analysts then broke that data down along state and demographic lines to determine the number of people facing foreclosure or eviction.

References:

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