Data: Climbing Rent Prices Hitting American Middle Class Hardest

The cost for rent is skyrocketing, putting more pressure on Americans, recent data from the Bank of America Institute showed.

Fox Business reported Tuesday:

Median rent payments for Bank of America customers surged 7.4% in July from the previous year, up from 7.2% in June, according to a new report from the Charlotte-based bank. Although skyrocketing rents are squeezing Americans across the income spectrum, middle-income and younger workers are feeling the biggest pinch.

…

Rising rents are a concerning development because higher housing costs most directly and acutely affect household budgets. Roughly 34% of households are renters, according to Census Bureau data, but that figure is even larger for lower- and middle-income families. More than half — roughly 52.6% — of households with family income that is below the national median of $31,133 are renters.

Surging rents squeezing middle-class Americans the hardest, study shows https://t.co/8ejIeewLRj

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) August 23, 2022

The institute said, “Significant increase in rent prices can have meaningful impact on household financial situations, particularly for middle and lower income households,” according to its report dated August 18.

Per the institute, every income group was suffering under rising rent with the percentage year over year in median rent the largest for those with annual incomes between $51,000 and $150,000.

Meanwhile, inflation and crime emerged as the main worries going into the midterms, a Rasmussen Reports survey found this week.

“There is a consensus across the board, as most Democrats, Republicans, and independents identify inflation as a concern,” according to Breitbart News.

In addition, Americans were slammed with higher food prices last month despite President Joe Biden’s White House claiming inflation ran at zero throughout that time.

As if that was not enough, inflation also bore down on parents raising children, per the Brookings Institution.

The left-wing institution’s analysis showed it could cost over $300,000 to raise a child in the current economic climate “which works out to an average of $18,271 per year to raise a child born after 2015,” according to Breitbart News.

“As Breitbart News has documented, inflation has increased significantly under President Joe Biden since the start of his presidency. The result of this has meant a higher cost of living for American families due to rising expenses in gas, food, and housing, among other items,” the report said.