The Patriot Post® · America's Housing Crisis Has a Marriage Problem
The United States is facing a housing affordability crisis. Median home prices have risen far faster than wages, mortgage rates remain elevated, and first-time buyers are increasingly locked out of the market. In many metropolitan areas, purchasing a median-priced home now requires an income well above what most young Americans earn.
Public debate typically frames the housing crisis as a product of interest rates, zoning restrictions, or corporate ownership. While each of these factors affects housing prices, a substantial share of the affordability problem is driven by the decline of marriage and the rise of single-adult household formation.
Home buying depends on household structure. A married household combines incomes, pools savings, and shares fixed costs. A single household does not. When more Americans attempt to buy homes on their own, per-person housing costs rise sharply, debt burdens increase, and mortgage qualification becomes significantly more difficult. That shift alone reduces homeownership rates, even if home prices remain unchanged.
Across all income and tenure categories, “worst-case housing needs” — defined as households paying excessive portions of income toward housing or living in severely inadequate conditions — affect just 3.8% of married-couple households. Among all other households, that figure rises to 11.9%. Married households are not merely more financially secure; they are significantly more likely to own homes, insulating them from rising rents and long-term housing instability.
Income differences explain much of the gap. Between 2015 and 2019, households headed by a married white individual earned approximately 144% of area median income. Comparable households headed by unmarried white individuals earned just 71% of area median income.
The same pattern appears across racial groups. Households headed by married black individuals earned roughly 115% of area median income, compared to approximately 49% for households headed by unmarried black individuals. Dual incomes, greater employment stability, and longer-term earnings trajectories give married households a decisive advantage.
Expense structures compound the effect. According to the 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average single person spends approximately $4,641 per month. By contrast, married couples without children spend an average of $7,391 per month combined. On a per-person basis, that amounts to approximately $3,696 — nearly $1,000 less per person than single households.
Married couples with children spend between $8,809 and $9,780 per month, depending on the children’s ages, yet still benefit from economies of scale that reduce per-capita costs for housing, utilities, transportation, and insurance.
These differences directly affect homeownership. Mortgage qualification depends on debt-to-income ratios, down payment savings, and financial reserves. Married households are better positioned on all three. Two incomes allow couples to save faster, qualify more easily, and absorb temporary financial shocks. Shared housing costs reduce monthly burdens, making mortgage payments sustainable in ways that single incomes often cannot match.
As marriage rates decline, more Americans are forced to pursue homeownership alone. That raises per-person costs, delays purchasing timelines, and increases exposure to housing instability. The result is lower homeownership rates, weaker wealth accumulation, and a higher prevalence of worst-case housing needs.
Too often, politicians treat housing stability as a pricing problem alone, ignoring marriage as one of the strongest predictors of homeownership. The ability to buy a home depends not only on prices but also on the structure and stability of the household itself. Marriage remains one of the most reliable pathways to homeownership.
If America wants to become affordable again, younger generations must rethink delayed marriage and family formation. Earlier marriage allows couples to combine incomes sooner, share expenses, build savings faster, and enter the housing market earlier. Two stable earners accumulating assets together create financial security that individual lifestyles often delay or weaken.