Key facts
- In 31 states, average monthly rent exceeded 30% of average weekly earnings in August 2026, per the Urban Institute tracker.
- North Dakota had the lowest rent-to-earnings ratio at 21.17%, the tracker said.
- Hawaii and New York had rent at around 50% of average earnings, the tracker said.
- Real average weekly earnings were around $1,300 in August 2026, versus around $1,310 in August 2021, per Freemark.
- The tracker put the nationwide average gasoline price at $4.48 a gallon on September 21, 2026, up 46.9% from $3.05 on January 6, 2025.
In 31 US states, average monthly rent took up more than 30% of Americans' average weekly earnings in August 2026, according to The American Affordability Tracker published in late October by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit think tank.
North Dakota had the lowest rent-to-earnings ratio at 21.17%, while in Hawaii and New York rent accounted for around 50% of average earnings, the tracker said. Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Urban Institute, said the affordability question comes down to whether people can afford their typical daily needs. "People feel like they can't afford their daily life, and it's everything that they're experiencing, not just one thing," he said.
Freemark pointed to real average weekly earnings, which are adjusted for inflation. In August 2021 the national average stood at around $1,310; as of August 2026 it stood at around $1,300, he said. The tracker said childcare and housing prices have risen faster than earnings over the past decade, while since January 2025 earnings have grown faster than rents in all but eight states: Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The tracker said affordability pressures have spread beyond traditionally high-cost areas to smaller cities including Rochester, New York, and Louisville, Kentucky. It put the nationwide average price of a gallon of gasoline at $4.48 on September 21, 2026, up 46.9% from $3.05 on January 6, 2025. Freemark attributed higher transportation costs in part to the war in Iran, particularly where public transportation is less accessible.
Freemark said policies to expand homeownership opportunities and reduce other rising costs are needed, including state governments offering lower-interest-rate loans or help with initial down payments, and allowing remote work to lower commuting costs. "Having the election does not solve the affordability crisis at all," he said.