Report: It's Not Just the Poor Who Can't Make Rent

It's not just low-income Americans who struggle to pay their rent every month, or find an affordable place to live when they move. New research from Harvard says that even renters with annual incomes of $45,000 face unaffordable rents in many cities, with potentially far-reaching effects, NBC News reported.

"It's moving up the income ladder," said Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Joint Center For Housing Studies at Harvard. The group found that roughly half of families who earn between $30,000 and just under $45,000 a year and rent spend more than 30 percent of what they make on rent.

The financial situation of these renters isn't as dire than their low-income counterparts: Last year, more than four out of five renters earning less than $15,000 spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent, and nearly three quarters spent half their income on rent.

This situation is the result of a perfect storm of growing rental demand, especially from wealthier families, a shrinking pool of moderately-priced rentals and stagnant wages that haven't kept up with rent inflation, which is rising faster today than it has in 30 years.

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