22.7 million. That’s how many renters are considered cost-burdened in the U.S., each spending more than 30% of their income to keep a roof over their heads, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies 2026 State of the Nation’s Housing report. It’s a record high, surging by 2.3 million since 2019. This year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition launched a 2025 national renter survey to home in on renters’ experiences. The survey was conducted between July and December 2025. Here are four takeaways from the report for local government leaders. Low-income renters face heightened housing instability It’s well documented that the affordable housing crisis impacts the nation’s lowest-income households the most. An estimated 11 million low-income households are competing for less than 4 million housing options within their price range, according to JCHS. The NLIHC survey details the instability such renters face, with one in five renters earning below $25,000 reporting moving at least three times in the past two years, compared with 7.1% of movers at or above that income level. Overall, about 30 million adult renters moved at least once in the past two years, the survey found, with 64% doing so just once. Many renters are hitting a wall with housing assistance Nine in 10 renters receiving some form of housing assistance had incomes below $50,000, according to the survey. “Housing assistance provided by federal, state, and local governments plays a critical role in keeping renters stably housed as rising rents remain out of reach for so many households,” the report states. However, around 5.7 million renters surveyed said they or someone in their household applied for housing assistance in the past two years and did not receive it. Among those who applied and did not receive assistance, 37.8% were denied assistance, 36.8% were