Nearly half of Wichita renters ‘burdened’ by rents, according to study

A study of rental affordability says that nearly 50 percent of Wichita renters are financially “burdened” by their rent payments.

The study by Apartmentlist.com, which uses U.S. Census data, compares median rents with median renter income locally and across the nation.

As rental affordability has dropped, more people are spending more of their income to pay for their apartments and houses.

In judging whether renters are burdened, the survey author used the common benchmark of spending no more than 30 percent of income on rent.

In Wichita in 2014, 46 percent of renters were financially stressed by their rent. Of that number, half spent 50 percent or more of their income on rent — which the study author called “severely cost burdened.”

Rents locally and nationally have grown faster than renter incomes between 2007 and 2014, the most recent data available.

According to the study, the median rent in Wichita rose from $596 per month to $747 per month in that period, a 25 percent increase.

Renters’ median yearly income rose from $25,451 to $29,195 per year in the same period, a 15 percent increase.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Nearly half of Wichita renters ‘burdened’ by rents, according to study."