53% Of Gen Z And Millennials Spend Over Half Their Income On Housing

The Juice spends a fair bit of time writing about housing. We do it — and keep doing it — for two main reasons:

• We think it’s the most pressing issue facing the United States today. 
• Our subscribers respond most strongly to The Juice when we talk about housing. 

So, we assume that it resonates. 

Even if you’re among the roughly three-quarters of American homeowners with mortgage interest rates under 5% (and, we also assume, a manageable or no mortgage payment), housing still matters to you. 

Why?

Because—

• Maybe you have a kid who rents or lives with you. 
• Maybe you’re looking to move, purchase a new home or buy a second one. 
• Maybe you see housing impact other areas of life in your community and in the country. You know it’s not sustainable to persist in a nation of haves and have nots. 

Consider some data that ought to make you care if you don’t already.

According to a CardRates.com survey of Gen Z and millennials, just over 76% spend more than 31% of their income on housing. 

Believe it or not, this isn’t even the really bad news.

Quick refresher—

To be able to afford your housing expense, it’s personal financial consensus that you should spend no more than 30% of your income on it. Check out The Juice’s archives (we’ll link to them today in our Freshly Squeezed section down below) where you can find more than a few housing installments that show just how much you need to earn these days to not breach that threshold. 

Here’s some of the really bad news—

• 53% of respondents say they drop more than half of their income on housing. 
• Nearly 85% of millennial women spend more than 31% of their salaries on housing. 
• Just over 9% of women spend almost 100% of their income on housing. 

Almost 100%!

• Almost 15% of Gen Z men and women spend less than 20% on housing expenses. 

So there’s some good news. 

Breaking it down by city there are a few surprises. 

Check out the places where Gen Z and millennials spend 50% or more on housing—

• Boston: 65%
• Detroit: 64%
• Phoenix: 61%
• Columbus: 59%
• Philadelphia: 54%
• Indianapolis: 54%
• Dallas: 52%
• New York: 52%
• Austin: 52%
• San Francisco: 52%
• Los Angeles: 52%
• Washington, DC: 52%
• Memphis: 51%
• Charlotte: 50%

Some of the names on that list might surprise. It’s probably a combination of lower salaries in those places and the increased (and increasing) cost of housing. 

It’s also a nice lead-in for a Juice we’re next week that shows the cities you can expect to turn into $1 million housing markets within just a few years. It’s truly scary stuff. The last large and medium-size bastions of anything resembling affordability are disappearing or set to disappear. 

The Bottom Line: For most of us, housing is our largest expense, unless you somehow live rent-free or have your own place paid off. This is why home ownership can be important. Equity and all of that is one thing, but looking ahead to retirement (or just advanced age), the last thing you want is a hefty housing payment weighing you down. 

How much you pay for housing can really make or break a comfortable retirement. Which is a big reason why The Juice covers the subjects so extensively.

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