Households that Pay 30% or more of Their Income on Household Expenses

Tracking the percentage of people who are cost burdened—those spending more than 30% of their income on housing—is crucial because it highlights how many families are struggling with the high cost of living. When a large portion of their income goes to housing, other essential parts of the family budget, like healthcare, food, education, and transportation, often get squeezed. This financial strain can lead to difficult trade-offs, such as skipping medical care or forgoing healthy meals to make rent. Since our coalition’s goal is to ensure that 80% of people in Southwest Florida can afford both housing and transportation without exceeding 45% of their income, tracking this metric helps us see how rising housing costs ripple through a family’s entire budget. By addressing housing affordability, we also improve families’ ability to meet their other basic needs and achieve financial stability.