Rental costs in the United States last year outpaced the rise in home values for the first time since 2011, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report, which reveals that nearly half of the country's renter households are "cost-burdened," meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

The Census report also shows that 49.7 percent of America's renters -- more than 21 million households -- spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers renters at that point to be "cost-burdened."

Homeowners had a lower median housing cost as a percentage of income than renters last year -- 21.1 percent for homeowners with a mortgage and 11.5 percent for those without one.

Although homeowners faced a lower housing cost burden than renters, a significant expense for them was property insurance, according to the Census Bureau report. More than 5.4 million of the 85.7 million homeowners in the United States paid $4,000 or more for homeowner's insurance in 2023, with Florida having the highest number of such households.

The increase in rental costs last year and the burden on renters were not uniform across the country.

States such as Arizona, Florida, and Georgia saw significant increases in the share of renter incomes devoted to housing. Arizona's rental costs jumped by 6.5 percent, while Florida and Georgia recorded 8.2 percent and 6 percent increases, respectively.

By contrast, the share of renters' incomes spent on rent decreased in six states: Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and West Virginia.

Higher rent burdens generally make it harder to afford other necessities, such as food and transportation, and push first-time homeownership further out of reach. Spending a higher percentage of one's income on rent makes it more difficult to save for a down payment.