The federal government considers 30% of income a threshold for affordable housing. People paying more than 30% are considered to be cost-burdened.

In 2017-21, residents of 28% of housing units in the region were considered cost burdened. This was a bit below the national level of 30% and lower than the state share of 37%. The rates for the region, state and nation declined slightly since 2012-16 (all by 3 percentage points).

Among the region's counties, the share of units with cost-burdened residents was highest in Monroe (30%), followed by Orleans (28%), Livingston and Yates (both at 26%). The share was lowest in Wyoming County (22%). Within Monroe County, the City of Rochester had the highest share of units - 42% - where residents' housing costs were above affordable levels. Rochester's share also was well above Canandaigua (34%), and Batavia and Geneva (both at 30%).

Multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are expected to be released in the fourth quarter.