High Housing Costs a Reality for Millions of Kids in Immigrant Families

Fam­i­ly nativ­i­ty impacts how like­ly it is that chil­dren will grow up in house­holds with high hous­ing costs, accord­ing to research. Across the nation, this issue affects 41% of kids in immi­grant fam­i­lies (7.6 mil­lion chil­dren) and just 29% of kids in U.S.-born fam­i­lies (16 mil­lion children).

The term ​“high hous­ing costs” refers to house­holds where more than 30% of a fam­i­ly’s month­ly income is spent on rent or mort­gage pay­ments, tax­es, insur­ance and relat­ed expenses.

This rate varies by state. In New York, 51% of kids in immi­grant fam­i­lies are liv­ing in house­holds grap­pling with high hous­ing costs. At the oth­er end of the spec­trum sits Ida­ho, where just 23% of kids in immi­grant fam­i­lies fall into the high-hous­ing-cost category.

Pay­ing too much for mort­gage or rent lim­its a house­hold’s capac­i­ty to afford oth­er neces­si­ties, such as food, health care, trans­porta­tion and child care. To build eco­nom­ic secu­ri­ty for their fam­i­lies, par­ents and care­givers need both afford­able hous­ing options and jobs that pay a liv­ing wage.

Access more eco­nom­ic data by fam­i­ly nativ­i­ty on the KIDS COUNT Data Center:

• Chil­dren liv­ing in crowd­ed house­holds by fam­i­ly nativity
• Chil­dren liv­ing in house­holds that are owned by fam­i­ly nativity
• Chil­dren liv­ing in house­holds with a high hous­ing cost bur­den by fam­i­ly nativity