Report Highlights Housing Issues in Rural America

Rising costs and an aging housing stock are squeezing rural households, with the impacts felt unevenly across ages and ethnicities.

1 minute read

December 13, 2023, 7:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Aerial view of mobile home community in rural area with homes lined up diagonally next to small road.

Greg Kelton / Adobe Stock

A report from the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) outlines the housing issues faced by rural Americans, who are experiencing sharp increases in housing costs and other factors that make housing affordability a more pressing issue than in past decades. Lia Kvatum describes the report in The Daily Yonder, noting that “Housing costs have increased dramatically over the last few decades, and the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated the problem.”

While the homeownership rate in rural areas is higher than the national average, this doesn’t hold across all demographics. Meanwhile, “One quarter of all rural households spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. More than 40% of those are renters.” And “While rents in rural areas are typically lower than in urban and suburban areas, more than half of rural renters live below the poverty line, making market rate rents—even in rural areas—beyond their reach.” Rural housing stock is also often older, requiring expensive energy efficiency and safety retrofits. 

Thursday, December 7, 2023 in The Daily Yonder

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Looking out at trees on 4th Street in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA’s Tree Emergency Goes Beyond Vandalism

After a vandal destroyed dozens of downtown LA trees, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to replace them. Days later, she slashed the city’s tree budget.

April 23 - Torched

White and blue Sacramento regional transit bus with one bike on front bike rack.

Sacramento Leads Nation With Bus-Mounted Bike Lane Enforcement Cameras

The city is the first to use its bus-mounted traffic enforcement system to cite drivers who park or drive in bike lanes.

April 23 - Streetsblog California

View of downtown Seattle with Space Needle and mountains in background

Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum

Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.

April 23 - Next City