Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure by state

35% of Americans who are late on rent/mortgage said they feared losing their home. In MS, WV, and FL, it is about 50%.

Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure, Dec 9-19, 2022

Percent of adults living in households not current on rent or mortgage where eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is “very likely” or “somewhat likely”

Source: Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

As housing prices have increased, so has the fear of losing one’s home. 35% of Americans who are past-due on rent or mortgage fear that eviction or foreclosure is likely. Among Southern states, fears are particularly high in Mississippi (50%), West Virginia (50%), Florida (47%), and South Carolina (44%).

Growing housing prices are a chronic problem across the U.S., made worse by the pandemic. Mortgage interest rates grew by a higher margin in 2022 than in any other year on record — with rates having doubled by the end of the year.¹ Rent increased by 14% from 2021 to 2022, with Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina having among the highest increases.² More than 1 in 4 Southern renters have to spend the majority of their household income on rent and utilities (Severe Housing Cost Burden).

Respondents to a Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) survey in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi said affordable housing was their community’s greatest challenge.³ Across Southern states, only 1% of American Rescue Plan funds have been dedicated to housing as of December 2022, compared to 11% across the rest of the nation.⁴

1. “Archive”. Freddie Mac. https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms_archives 

2. “Average rent increase in the U.S. in 2022”. Brozic, Depietro. Credit Karma. October, 2022. https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/average-rent-increase#key-findings-on-rent-increase 

3. “Two years into the pandemic, Southern families’ struggle with housing weighs heavy as lawmakers begin ARP spending plans”. The Southern Economic Advancement Project. March, 2022. https://theseap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ARP-Survey-Release_March_2022.pdf 

4. “Fiscal Recovery Fund Spending by States, U.S. Territories”. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/resource-lists/fiscal-recovery-funds-in-the-american-rescue-plan