The federal government considers 30% of income a threshold for affordable housing. Renters paying more than 30% of their income in rent are considered cost-burdened and may struggle to afford other basic needs.

In 2013-17, 50% of rental units in the region had residents whose housing costs were above the affordability threshold. That was higher than the national level of 47% and the same as the state rate. The region's rate did not change from 2008-12 to 2013-17. The City of Rochester contained 41% of the rent-burdened units in the region. Overall, 58% of units in Rochester had residents whose housing costs were above affordable levels. This was higher than any county in the region and well above Canandaigua (40%), Geneva (48%) and Batavia (45%). Rental cost burden at the county level was lowest in Wyoming (36%) and highest in Livingston (53%).

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.