State Renters Making Less and Paying More

Nearly half of Rhode Island’s renters are paying more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing, while more than a quarter of them pay more than 50 percent.

The Providence Journal reported that Rhode Island has an estimated 71,500 renter households and about 40 percent of people in the state rent their homes.

For households in the middle 20 percent of renters’ income, the median cost, which includes rent and utilities, rose from $747 a month in 2000 to $870 a month in 2012, according to the HousingWorks RI 2014 Fact Book.

Rhode Island also has higher property taxes than the national average of $2,823. Bristol County led the state with an average bill of $5,795. Washington County’s was $5,042, Providence County clocked in at about $4,814 and Kent County’s was $3,880, reported Zillow.

Affordable housing is in high demand and Providence’s Housing Authority alone had 4,488 applications on its waiting list for this year. According to HousingWorks, another 13,142 long-term affordable homes are needed to meet the 10-percent threshold set by the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act of 2004.

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