Research shows that U.S. veteran households tend to spend a smaller share of their income on housing and, thus, face lower levels of housing insecurity. In this report, the authors show that this national veteran advantage does not always exist at the local level, especially in large cities and less populated areas. The authors argue that a better understanding of local differences in housing insecurity can strengthen veteran housing policies.

The Local Geography of Housing Cost Burden

Advantages and Disadvantages Among Veterans

Megan Andrew, Daniel Schwam, Vanessa Parks

ResearchPublished Jan 28, 2025

Research shows that, nationally, U.S. veteran households tend to spend a smaller share of their income on housing and, thus, face lower levels of housing insecurity than nonveteran households. In this report, the authors use detailed demographic data to scrutinize this trend at the local level by analyzing the share of household income spent on housing for veteran and nonveteran households across local areas for the 15-year period from 2007 to 2021. They focus on critical levels of household income shares spent on housing, referred to as moderate and severe housing cost burden (HCB), for U.S. Public Use Microdata Areas. Their analysis shows that, in important ways, the national veteran advantage in HCB does not hold across local areas. In many of the country's most expensive metropolitan areas, veteran households are more likely to experience critical levels of HCB than nonveteran households. Additionally, the authors found that, in some less populated areas, critical levels of HCB among veteran households are increasing at a concerning rate compared with nonveteran households, whose critical levels of HCB are stable or decreasing.

The authors argue that there is a crucial need to understand local geographic differences in veteran HCB to help support existing policy efforts addressing veteran housing insecurity. They recommend improving HCB metrics and using those metrics to measure veteran HCB across local geographies, addressing moderate veteran HCB as an upstream predictor of homelessness, providing housing support earlier for both veteran renters and owners, and addressing persistent inequities in veteran HCB.

Key Findings

  • Prior research shows that U.S. veteran households tend to spend a smaller share of their income on housing. But there are important exceptions at the local level to this national veteran advantage.
  • In localities across many of the United States' most expensive metropolitan areas (e.g., New York, Los Angeles), veteran households are 15- to 17-percent more likely to experience critical levels of HCB compared with nonveteran households. In some local metropolitan areas, this difference is even larger.
  • In many less populated areas, critical levels of veteran HCB increased by about 40 percent from their 2007 baseline, while critical levels of nonveteran HCB remained stable or even decreased.

Recommendations

  • Improve HCB metrics. Weaknesses in standard HCB and related metrics should be addressed for veteran and nonveteran households. Additional data on local differences in household expenditures and HCB will help stakeholders develop more-nuanced metrics to understand HCB dynamics.
  • Measure HCB across local geographies with improved metrics. Tracking veteran HCB across local geographies is critical for identifying geographic hotspots and helping stakeholders understand how interventions may reduce veteran HCB at a local level.
  • Address moderate veteran HCB as an upstream predictor of homelessness. Federal agencies, such as the Census Bureau, should annually report on veteran moderate HCB, severe HCB, and overall housing cost ratios. These annual reports could give federal authorities a fuller picture of veteran housing insecurity.
  • Provide housing support earlier for both veteran renters and owners. Federal programs should be more proactive and longer-term in their veteran housing assistance for both renters and owners. Subsidies for veteran households in less populated areas where veteran HCB has grown could also be helpful.
  • Address persistent inequities in veteran HCB. Disparities in HCB between veteran households raise equity concerns about veteran HCB and the programs that aim to address it. Determining benefits using local geography and examining the costs of housing and living will likely help address female and especially minority disparities in veteran HCB. Additionally, evaluations of innovative pilot programs aimed at reducing veteran HCB should examine the uptake and success of these programs among different demographic groups to help determine whether these programs are working as intended.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2025
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 106
  • Paperback Price: $30.50
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 1-9774-1448-6
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA1363-14
  • Document Number: RR-A1363-14

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Andrew, Megan, Daniel Schwam, and Vanessa Parks, The Local Geography of Housing Cost Burden: Advantages and Disadvantages Among Veterans, RAND Corporation, RR-A1363-14, 2025. As of April 8, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1363-14.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Andrew, Megan, Daniel Schwam, and Vanessa Parks, The Local Geography of Housing Cost Burden: Advantages and Disadvantages Among Veterans. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1363-14.html. Also available in print form.
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Funding for this publication was made possible by a generous gift from Daniel J. Epstein through the Epstein Family Foundation. The research was conducted by the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute within RAND Education and Labor and RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

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