Nearly 70% of Single People Struggle to Afford Housing Payments, Compared to 52% of Married People

Single and divorced people are more likely than people who are married to make certain sacrifices, including skipping meals, to afford rent and mortgage payments, according to Redfin survey findings. That’s largely because single people are making payments alone; for instance, a single Washington, D.C. renter pays nearly $12,000 more per year than someone splitting the rent. 

Nearly 70% of single, divorced or separated people struggle to afford their regular rent or mortgage payments, compared to just over half (52%) of married people, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey. More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents who live with their partner but aren’t married struggle with housing payments, making them the group most likely to struggle. 

Americans are generally struggling to afford housing payments because costs have soared over the last five years, and wages have grown at a slower rate than housing costs. Sky-high home prices and mortgage rates have pushed monthly mortgage payments near record highs. Rents are about 20% higher than they were before the pandemic, though they have flattened out recently, boosting rental affordability slightly. 

Single people have a harder time affording housing payments largely because they’re typically using just their own income to pay for housing, while many married couples use two incomes. Roughly three in five (63%) single survey respondents and 69% of divorced respondents have a household income of under $50,000 per year, compared to 26% of married respondents. On the flip side, 29% of married respondents have a household income of $100,000 or over, compared to 7% of those who are single and 6% of those who are divorced. 

Married couples also receive tax benefits that single people don’t get, setting them up better for financial security. 

“The high cost of housing tends to hit single people hardest because they can’t pool resources with a partner to cover the same costs, unless they’re willing to have roommates,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Married couples make up a smaller and smaller share of U.S. households, so it’s important to include single people living alone or with roommates when examining ways to ease the affordability crisis. People who aren’t yet married, or aren’t interested in getting married or living with a partner, often have to make more sacrifices to cover their housing costs than their coupled-up counterparts, which is one reason the government should consider zoning for single-room housing, like dormitories, and ADUs.”

It’s worth noting that although most single and married people report struggling to make housing payments, most people pay on time. Just 1 of every 20 homeowners, regardless of marital status (married: 4%, never married: 5%, divorced: 6%), were late on their monthly mortgage payments as of September, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Fourteen percent of married renters were late on their rent, compared to 12% of those who have never been married and 15% of those who are divorced. 

Living alone in a 1-bedroom costs tens of thousands more than cohabitating

To break down the extra cost of living alone, take Washington, D.C. as an example. More than half of adults in the nation’s capital are single, making it one of the U.S. cities with the highest share of single people. A studio or one-bedroom apartment in the D.C. metro costs $1,908 per month, according to Redfin data. A single person living alone would cover that whole cost themselves, while a married or cohabitating couple might split the rent and pay $954 each. That means a single person would pay $11,448 more per year on housing than someone who lives with their romantic partner. 

In Los Angeles, one of the most expensive rental markets in the U.S., the typical studio or one-bedroom apartment rents for $2,480 per month, or $1,240 when split in two. A single person making payments alone would pay an extra $14,880 per year. 

For the monthly cost of renting a studio or one-bedroom home in the 50 most populous U.S. metros, please see the table at the bottom of this report. 

Single, divorced people more likely to skip meals to make housing payments

Single people are more likely than married couples to make certain sacrifices to pay for housing. 

Of those who struggle to afford housing payments, more than one-quarter (27%) of divorced or separated people and 21% of single people report skipping meals completely to pay for housing, compared to 14% of married people. Non-married people are also slightly more likely than married couples to borrow money from family or friends to make housing payments, and to work side hustles. 

Single renters more likely than their married counterparts to say they can’t afford to buy

Single and divorced renters are more likely to cite lack of affordability as a reason they won’t be purchasing a home anytime soon. 

Metro-level summary: Monthly housing costs

Methodology

The survey findings in this report are from a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in September 2024, fielded to 1,802 U.S. residents aged 18-65. The report focuses on the 779 married people, 524 single people, 273 divorced or separated people and 176 people who live with their partner who answered the following questions: To what extent, if any, do you struggle to afford your regular rent or mortgage payment? Respondents could choose one of the following: I can easily afford them, I sometimes struggle but generally okay, I regularly struggle but sometimes okay, or I struggle greatly to afford them. We considered respondents to be struggling if they selected any choice except “I can easily afford them.”

We also included results from the following questions: 

Which of the following, if any, changes or sacrifices did you make in the past year to afford your monthly housing costs, including mortgage or rent, insurance, parking, heating/cooling/electricity or HOA dues? Respondents could select all that apply from a list. 

Whether you are interested in being a homeowner or are not interested in being a homeowner, which of the following are reasons why you won’t be purchasing a home in the near future? Respondents could select all that apply from a list. 

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