Economy
One in Five Americans Has Sacrificed Spending to Make Rent
A new poll suggests that millions cut spending on groceries, clothing, and even medical care just to make rent over the past year.
Households in the U.S. are having a hard time making ends meet. Even as Americans continue to recover from the hammer that hit them in the late 2000s, they face severe and rising rents and jobs that are geographically concentrated in just a handful of metro centers.
A new poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Enterprise Community Partners finds that 21 percent of respondents had to cut back their spending to make their rent or mortgage, or that they were unable to pay their rent or mortgage over the past year. Of those respondents who were unable to pay for their housing, more than half cut back spending on their groceries (57 percent) and/or clothing (54 percent).