PolicyLink and PERE
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An Equity Profile of Orange County
#1: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami
Beach, FL (63%)
#151: Des Moines, IA
(41%)
#5: Los Angeles County, CA (59%)
#12: Orange County, CA (57%)
#19: San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (56%)
More than half of households in the region are rent-
burdened
Orange County ranks 12
th
in renter-
burdened households among the 150
largest regions. Nearly 6 in 10 (57 percent)
households are rent-burdened, defined as
spending more than 30 percent of their
household income on housing costs.
Orange County has a slightly lower level of
rent-burden than Los Angeles County and
Riverside metro area (both at 59 percent),
and a slightly higher level than the San
Diego metro area (56 percent).
It is also notable that Orange County cities
like Anaheim and Santa Ana have some of
the highest level of rent burden, with
Anaheim placing 6
th
(62 percent) and Santa
Ana 5
th
(64 percent) among the 100 largest
cities in the nation.
Orange County experiences some of the highest levels of rent burden when compared to the top 150 metro areas
Connectedness
77. Share of Households that are Rent-Burdened, 2016: 150 Largest Metros, Los Angeles County, and Orange County,
Ranked
Source: Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Universe includes renter-occupied households with cash rent (excludes group quarters).
Note: Data represent a 2012 through 2016 average. Rankings include the most populous 150 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. However, because Orange County and
Los Angeles County are in the same Metropolitan Statistical Area, data for each county are reported as separate observations and the combined metro data is
omitted.
