At the same time, 4.6 million very low-income homeowners had severe housing problems, with 4.3 million devoting more than half their incomes to cover costs. Housing problems among very low-income households are concentrated largely in urban areas. Half of these urban renters not receiving subsidies pay over 50 percent of their incomes for housing. The significant incidence of housing problems in rural areas is often overlooked. In 1997, about one in ten rural owners and one in five rural renters spent more than half their incomes for housing.
Rural households are also more likely than urban families to live in severely inadequate housing.
Even so, federal funding for loans and grants specifically targeted to rural households has been slashed. In addition, assistance has shifted from direct loans providing deeply subsidized assistance, to guaranteed loans serving rural residents with higher incomes. Funding for these programs has also failed to keep pace with growing need. This is an even larger share than the 14 percent who attributed their homelessness primarily to a job loss. In fact, nearly half reported working for pay at some time during the month they were surveyed.