Report: Houston incomes fall as housing costs rise

The Apartment List chart shows the gap between income and housing costs has widened in Houston. (Courtesy of Apartment List) The Apartment List chart shows the gap between income and housing costs has widened in Houston. (Courtesy of Apartment List) Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Report: Houston incomes fall as housing costs rise 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

The gap between rents and incomes is widening across the nation. The effect is even more pronounced in Houston, where rents have jumped as incomes have fallen, a study released Tuesday found.

The analysis by Apartment List, a San Francisco-based company that analyzes trends in real estate, found that nationwide there has been a 64 percent increase in rents and incomes have not been able to keep pace, only rising 19 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of renters who are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, has doubled from 24 percent in 1960 to 49 percent in 2014, according to census data.

In Houston, incomes fell 10 percent and rents have increased 15 percent. Houston was one of the exceptions to the national trend. Incomes rose in other cities, albeit not as quickly as rents.

"Houston gets a bit of a pass because rents have not increased as much as other cities in the U.S.," said Andrew Woo with Apartment List. "When you add income into the equation, renters in Houston are struggling just as much as the larger markets."

Austin, where the population has doubled since 1980, incomes kept up with the pace of rent increases. It was one of the few cities that saw this trend. Others were Phoenix and Las Vegas. In large cities, such as Washington, D.C., Boston and San Francisco, incomes rose but rents rose twice as fast.

In Houston, Detroit, Indianapolis, incomes fell and rents rose between 15 and 25 percent.