Cheaper Rent, Heavier Burden
Each point is one DC ward. Wards with lower median rent tend to have a higher share of cost-burdened renters, because rent still eats a larger share of smaller incomes.
Scatter plot of DC's eight wards showing median gross rent on the horizontal axis and the percentage of renters who are cost-burdened (spending 30% or more of income on rent) on the vertical axis. The trend line slopes downward: wards with lower rent tend to have higher shares of cost-burdened renters. Ward 8 has the lowest median rent at $1,363 and the highest cost-burden rate at 57.1%. Ward 3 has higher rent but a comparatively lower burden rate.
