Middle-Income Renters Face Increased Payment Stress in 2025, Urban Institute Reports
A new study by the Urban Institute reveals a significant rise in payment stress among middle-income renters in 2025. One in five renter households, across all income levels, either paid rent late or missed a payment, an increase from 16.5% in 2024. This marks the highest share since the Urban Institute began tracking this metric in 2017. The most substantial year-over-year increase in rent affordability challenges was observed among middle-income renters, defined as households earning 200% to 400% of the federal poverty line. Their reported difficulties rose from 14.3% in 2024 to 21.6% in 2025. Additionally, 20.7% of renters were unable to fully pay their heating and electricity bills in 2025, a figure consistent with 2023 and 2024, but still above pre-pandemic levels from 2019 to 2022. Researchers suggest that pandemic-era stimulus payments and expanded safety nets temporarily alleviated these utility payment problems between 2020 and 2022, indicating that both rent and utility costs are now straining hou...
