By Elizabeth Zach, RCAC staff writer

About a quarter of the nation’s most rural counties have an increasing number of “severely cost-burdened” residents, in contrast to urban areas, where residents have seen their incomes rise since the end of the Great Recession.

According to PEW’s Stateline, in an analysis of American Community Survey estimates from the U.S. Census, “Losses of high-paying jobs have hit some rural regions….especially hard. Other places are struggling with affordable housing because new workers in economically revived areas are vying for rental housing, putting pressure on prices in a rental market with a limited supply.”

The analysis also demonstrates that federal incentives to increase affordable housing supply have mostly dried up or are about to expire. In response to the demand, many landlords simply charge more for rent, according to a study by the Housing Assistance Council.

To read more, go here: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/03/25/rural-america-faces-a-housing-cost-crunch