We will dive deeper into these findings with future analyses. It also does not control for other factors like poverty rates, median incomes, and health behaviors that may be associated with the variables we analyzed.

Our correlation analysis only demonstrates the strength and direction of these relationships. While these findings are consistent with previous research, they do not show a causal relationship between the variables. Tennessee counties with a higher share of cost-burdened homeowner households with a mortgage were more likely to have a higher adult uninsured rate.A higher food insecurity rate for households with children.Individuals reporting a greater number of poor physical health,.Individuals reporting a greater number of poor mental health days,.Tennessee counties with a higher share of cost-burdened homeowner households with or without a mortgage were more likely to have:.A higher percentage of people reporting their health as fair or poor and.Tennessee counties with a higher share of any type of cost-burdened household were more likely to have:.Tennessee counties with a higher share of cost-burdened households are more likely to have adverse health outcomes and food insecurity. Households were broken down into three groups - owner-occupied households with a mortgage, owner-occupied households with no mortgage, and households paying rent. To see if these findings hold true for Tennessee, we looked at the correlation between unaffordable housing in Tennessee and the following metrics: poor physical health days, poor mental health days, poor or fair self-rated health, uninsured rate, and food insecurity. Research has shown that unaffordable housing is associated with poorer health status, food insecurity, and decreased health care spending. These income-related differences in housing costs are also more pronounced among renters than homeowners ( Figure 3).įigure 3 Unaffordable Housing and Health in Tennessee (5)įrom 2011 to 2015, low-income homeowners and renters in our state consistently spent a larger share of their incomes on housing and were more likely to be cost-burdened than higher-income homeowners and renters. Of these, 29% of homeowner households with a mortgage, 11% of homeowner households without a mortgage, and 51% of renter households were cost-burdened ( Figure 2). In 2015, 41% of Tennessee households owned their home and were paying a mortgage, 26% owned their home and had no mortgage, and 33% were renters ( Figure 1). These trends can be seen in Tennessee as well. Households that spend 30% or more of income on housing are considered “cost-burdened.” Nationwide, renters are more likely to be cost-burdened than homeowners, and low-income households spend more on housing than middle and high-income households. (2)įigure 1 Cost-Burdened Households in Tennessee Living in unaffordbale housing is associated with higher levels of stress, depression, and anxiety.Adults living in unaffordable housing are more likely to describe their health as fair or poor than other adults.Low-income households that spend more than 50% of their incomes on housing costs spend 41% less on food each month than similar households.As a state’s average rent increases, the food insecurity rate also increases.The financial strain, stressors, and difficult choices that accompany unaffordable housing are associated with many adverse health outcomes.

Spending a large percentage of income on housing means that individuals and families have less money for other needs such as food, health care, transportation, and clothing. (1) These expenses include rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, and homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Unaffordable housing is typically defined as housing expenses that are more than 30% of household income.

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