The American Community Survey (ACS) is one of the most important resources for housing researchers in the country, providing a wealth of information on housing and households annually in the US. Last month, the Census Bureau released the first major components of the survey for 2023. While many of the estimates we produce at the Center require access to the more detailed microdata that will be released later this week, the new tables provide several important data points relevant for housing trends. Here are ten notable stories in the ACS data:

1. Another New Record for Renter Unaffordability. The new ACS data show that in 2023 a record high 22.0 million renter households spent at least 30 percent of their income on housing. This marked an increase of 226,000 from the previous year and an increase of more than 2.1 million since before the pandemic in 2019. More than half of all renters spent such a high share of their income on rent and utilities in 2023, including over a quarter (11.2 million) that spent at least half their income on housing. The methodology used by the Census varies slightly from the approach used by the Center, but the newest Census data suggest levels in 2023 exceeded the record number of renters with cost burdens set in 2022.
    
2. Rent Increases Outpaced Renter Income Growth. Renter affordability challenges worsened as rents rose faster than incomes. Last year, the median gross rent (including utilities) paid by renters was $1,406 per month, up 8 percent from 2022 and up 28 percent nominally since 2019. This outpaced the growth in median renter incomes which, at $51,700 in 2023, were up 5 percent from the previous year and 22 percent since 2019.    
    
3. Homeowner Affordability Challenges Also Rose. The number of homeowners who spent 30 percent or more of their income on housing also rose in 2023 to 19.8 million households, up 723,000 from a year earlier and up fully 3.2 million since 2019. Nearly a quarter of homeowners (23 percent) spent such a high share of their income on housing, up 0.6 percentage points year over year and a substantial 2.1 percentage points since 2019.
    
4. Multiple Factors Raising Costs of Homeownership. Costs for homeowners also increased in 2023. Median monthly costs for the 51.6 million homeowners with a mortgage were $1,904, up 7 percent from the previous year and up 18 percent since 2019. Rising property taxes, insurance premiums, and other non-mortgage costs were a large part of the increase, evidenced by the sharper rise in costs for homeowners without a mortgage, which increased by 8 percent from 2022 (to $629) and fully 25 percent since 2019. By comparison, the median household income for homeowners was $95,900, up 4 percent since 2022 and 17 percent since 2019.
    
5. Homeownership Rates Fell Slightly for Younger Households. Homeownership rates for younger adults declined for the first time in several years, likely related to rising home values and reduced homebuyer affordability. Homeownership rates among households under age 35 decreased 0.5 percentage points in 2022-2023 to 36.1 percent.  This was the first meaningful decline for this age group in nearly a decade. Rates for households aged 35-44 also declined by a modest 0.1 percentage point to 61.1 percent. But continued high rates among the growing number of older households kept the national homeownership rate steady at 65.2 percent in 2023, on par with the rates of the last two years.
    
6. Black Homeowners Show Surprising Gains but Gaps Remain Substantial. In contrast to rates among most other groups that remained relatively unchanged for the year, the homeownership rate for Black households increased by 0.6 percentage points in 2023. Still, at 44.7 percent, the homeownership rate for Black households remained 27.7 percentage points below the homeownership rate for white households (72.4 percent). The homeownership rate for Hispanic households (51.0 percent) was 21.4 percentage points lower, and the rate for Asian households (63.4 percent) was 8.9 percentage points below that for white households.
    
7. Household Growth Slows from Torrid Pace. Household growth is essential to track as a measure of growing (and changing) housing needs. The number of households in the US rose by 1.46 million in 2023, a 1.1 percent increase year over year. While robust, this is down from the sky-high 2.33 million increase reported in 2022. Household growth has been especially hot since the pandemic, following a decade of more muted growth. In 2010-2019, the US averaged just 915,000 new households annually.
    
8. Immigration Has Picked Up. Despite slowing household growth, population growth—an important component of housing demand—strengthened in 2023. The population increased by 1.63 million people last year, up from 1.39 million new people in 2022. This happened despite a small decrease (of about 22,000 people) in the native-born population. Indeed, the foreign-born population drove growth, increasing by 1.65 million in 2023, up from 912,000 the year before and well above immigration levels during and immediately preceding the pandemic. The full effect of increased immigration on housing demand will be felt as more recent entrants eventually form households.
    
9. Single-Family Rentals Increased. Changes to the housing stock are often slow to develop and occur over many years. But the number of renter households living in single-family homes ticked up by 22,000 in 2023, the first growth in the single-family rental stock since 2016. As a result, 14.3 million renter households lived in single-family units last year. The size of the single-family rental sector had declined through 2022 given the strength of the for-sale market. Last year’s turnaround was likely due to strong demand for single-family living among renter households, the persistent unaffordability of the homebuying market, and the continued growth in built-for-rent single-family construction.
    
10. Remote Work Is Here to Stay. The new ACS data show that 13.8 percent of workers, or just over 22 million people, worked from home in 2023. The share working from home is down from 17.9 percent at its peak in 2021 but still well above the 5.7 percent share working from home in 2019, when just 9 million people worked from home. Remote work trends influence the housing market by limiting daily commutes for large segments of the workforce—expanding location options for many households. Moreover, working from home also dictates what remote workers might need from their housing, like additional space for an office.

These stories provide just a snapshot of the important housing data collected and reported by Census annually through the American Community Survey. Following the release of the microdata, which provides far greater detail, the Center will have more to report on all of these topics.