The poorest renters face a far greater risk than other households of eviction, homelessness, and other hardship. With limited funds, federal rental assistance programs can only help 23 percent of these at-risk renters afford modest housing.
Click on the pie slices to toggle between assisted and unassisted renters.
Click on the icons to learn more about who these renters are.

Unassisted

All at-risk renters

Over 17 million at-risk renter households eligible for rental assistance do not receive it due to funding limitations. Sixty-three percent of these households have children or are headed by a person who is elderly or has disabilities.

Families with children

Nearly 6.3 million unassisted renter households are families with children under 18. Over 86 percent of these families include a working adult but still struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

Elderly without children

Over 3.2 million unassisted renter households are elderly. Many of these seniors live on fixed incomes.

Disabled without children

Over 1.2 million unassisted renter households are headed by someone with a physical or mental disability.

Other households

Close to 6.3 million unassisted renter households are adults without children. Eighty-seven percent are working but still struggle to make ends meet.

Assisted

All at-risk renters

Federal rental assistance programs help over 5 million low-income households afford modest housing. Nearly 90 percent of these households have children, elderly or disabled people.

Families with children

Almost 2 million low-income families with 3.8 million children receive federal rental assistance. Over 80 percent of assisted children live below the federal poverty line.

Elderly without children

Federal rental assistance helps over 1.7 million seniors. Assisted properties often provide services that enable seniors to live independently in their home communities and avoid or delay moving into nursing homes.

Disabled without children

Nearly 1 million renter households headed by a person with disabilities who is younger than 62 rely on federal rental assistance. These programs often offer services that enable people with disabilities to live independently in their home communities.

Other households

Federal rental assistance helps over 540,000 households without children afford decent, uncrowded housing and avoid homelessness or other kinds of housing instability.