One in five middle-income renters fell behind on rent last year

About one in five middle-income renters couldn't pay the full rent on time at least once in 2025, according to new research from the Urban Institute, up from roughly 14% the year before. That kind of hardship has long been concentrated among the lowest earners, and the new numbers show it moving up the income ladder.

The findings come from the institute's annual Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, which asks more than 10,000 adults how they're covering their bills, and were first reported by NPR. Nearly 22% of middle-income renters said they came up short at least once last year. Among lower-income renters the share reached almost 28%, up from about 24% in 2019, and even among the highest earners it rose to around 7%.

Homeowners' ability to make their mortgage payments has held steady for seven years, the survey found. The strain is specific to renters, and the share who say they've fallen behind has been climbing since 2022.

"This increase among middle-income renters is a big and important shift that reflects overall challenges with affordability in the country," said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow at the institute and a co-author of the report.

A middle income doesn't cover a two-bedroom in most big cities

Urban defines middle income for a family of three as $53,300 to $106,600 a year. A family at the bottom of that range can rent a typical two-bedroom for under 30% of its income, the usual affordability line, in only 8 of the country's 60 largest cities: Oklahoma City, El Paso, Detroit, Milwaukee, Tulsa, Wichita, Cleveland, and Lexington.

At the midpoint of the band, $79,950, a typical two-bedroom still takes more than 30% of income in 24 of those 60 cities. Even at the very top, $106,600, it tops 30% in eight: New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and Anaheim. In San Francisco a family earning $106,600 would put 38% of it toward a $3,390 two-bedroom.

Urban found the steepest rise in missed rent last year in the South and the Northeast. In the South, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando all put a typical two-bedroom above 30% for a family earning $79,950, and in the Northeast, New York and Boston take more than 45% at that income. The two-bedroom is where families with kids need to look for, and we've covered why the extra bedroom makes them the most rent-burdened group.

Rent is crowding out other bills

Slightly more than 20% of renters in the survey also reported trouble paying for gas, oil, or electricity last year. Batko described the missed rent as trade-offs families are making in real time. "That is a family that is choosing to pay for a child's medication or for food for lunch or dinner and choosing to forgo, or being forced to forgo, a rental payment," she said.

Eviction rates have stayed fairly steady over the past few years, according to the Eviction Lab, which tracks filings nationwide. Batko said she expects the share of households falling behind to keep growing as living costs rise, and she's concerned about more people ending up homeless. In some states a single missed payment can be enough to start an eviction, and our guide to what happens if you can't pay rent lays out how that timeline works.

Help may also get harder to reach. The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would let federal housing-assistance programs set time limits and work requirements, and housing advocates say that could cut the number of families who qualify for rental subsidies.

Sources

• NPR (September 23, 2026), for the Urban Institute findings and Batko's quotes

• Urban Institute, Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, for the missed-rent shares and middle-income definition

• RentDataNow rent data, typical two-bedroom rents for the 60 largest US cities, anchored to the Zillow Observed Rent Index, August 2026