Oceanside Among Most Severely Housing Cost-Burdened Homeowners

OCEANSIDE CA — The 2021 edition of "Where the Most and Fewest Homeowners Are Severely Housing Cost-Burdened" from SmartAsset shows Oceanside ranked as the #4 city in the nation with the most homeowners severely housing cost-burdened.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a household that spends more than 30% of its combined income on housing is considered “cost-burdened.” And households spending over 50% are considered “severely cost-burdened.” Many homeowners nationwide facing constraints based on their housing expense ratio may need to rethink their housing budget and move forward with a different personal finance plan. Some cities are more affected than others, however, which is why SmartAsset decided to take a closer look at the data to identify the cities with the most and fewest of these cost-burdened homeowners.

In order to do this, SmartAsset compared the total number of homeowner households to the number of these households spending 50% and over on housing, as well as the number of these households spending between 30% and 50% of their income on housing. We used these numbers to find the percentage that fits into each category.

Key Findings
Big city homeowners are the most cost-burdened. Six of the top 10 cities in our study are among the 50 largest in the country by population. These include Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Long Beach, New Orleans and San Francisco. Higher demand for housing generally leads to higher prices.
California cities are pricey. The Golden State has more representatives at the top of this list than any other state on this list. Fourteen of the top 25 cities are located in California (with an average severely housing cost-burdened rate of 13% across them).
Top 10 cities are almost three times as severely cost-burdened as bottom 10. Cost-burdened households make up 15.05% of total homes in the top 10, while only 5.41% in the bottom 10 pay at least 50% of their income on housing costs.

The 10 Most Severely Housing Cost-Burdened Cities

1. Los Angeles, CA
There are 511,115 homeowner households in the City of Angels, and 93,475 of those pay between 30% and 50% of their income on housing costs. Another 95,584 spend at least 50% of their income on housing. This means that 36.99% of owner-occupied households are housing cost-burdened and 18.70% are severely cost-burdened.

2. Miami, FL
Miami has 55,878 owner-occupied households, and 20,186 of those are burdened by housing costs, totaling just over 36% of all homes. Another 10,307 of these homes pay at least 50% of their income in housing costs, accounting for 18.45%.

3. New York, NY
It’s no secret that the Big Apple is expensive. Out of 1,022,819 homeowner households in the city, 326,439 are cost-burdened, accounting for 31.92%. Another 167,589 owner-occupied homes in New York spend at least 50% of their income on housing, making up 16.38% of all owner-occupied homes.

4. Oceanside, CA
Located near San Diego, 36.65% of Oceanside’s 37,426 owner-occupied homes are burdened by housing costs. Another 5,651 homeowner households pay more than 50% of their income in housing, which accounts for 15.17% of all owner-occupied homes.

5. Long Beach, CA
This southern California city has 64,944 homeowner households, and 32.43% of those spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs. Those with severe housing cost-burden make up 14.09% of all Long Beach owner-occupied homes.

6. New Orleans, LA
The Big Easy isn’t always easy to afford. More than 28% of the city’s 75,257 homeowner households spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs. And another 13.95%, made up by 10,498 owner-occupied households, spend at least 50% of their income on housing costs.

7. Irvine, CA
This Orange County suburb has 45,526 homeowner households, and 7,704 of those spend between 30% and 50% of their income on housing. Another 6,177 owner-occupied homes are severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income on housing costs.

8. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco has 135,852 homeowner households, and 28.92% of them pay at least 30% of their income in housing costs. Another 18,426 homeowner households spend at least 50% of their income on housing costs, meaning that 13.56% of the owner-occupied homes in the city are severely housing cost-burdened.

9. Fort Lauderdale, FL
About 29% of the 41,612 homeowner households in this South Florida city spend between 30% and 50% of their income on housing costs. And another 5,572 (13.39%) are severely cost-burdened, spending at least 50% of their income on housing.

10. Chula Vista, CA
Chula Vista, California rounds out the top 10. Almost 34% of 49,726 homeowner households are housing cost-burdened, paying at least 30% of their income in housing costs. Another 6,593 homeowner households (13.26%) are severely cost-burdened, spending at least 50% of their income on housing.

This is SmartAsset’s fifth study on this topic. You can check out prior versions on their website.