As at 13 October 2026 · official data unless labelled
Housing cost overburden (40%+ of income on housing)
What the numbers are telling us
The share of low-income people spending over 40% of income on housing was 13.8% in 2021, down 0.57 pts on the previous reading (14.4%).
It is below its 10-year average of 17.5%, which is a better reading than usual.
Across 29 OECD countries (2021), Australia ranks 11th best of 29 on overburdened, below the median of 18.4%.
Why it matters
People in low-income households spending more than 40 per cent of disposable income on housing.
What it should be
There is no official target, so Australia is judged against comparable countries: lower than the OECD median is better. The OECD median is 18.4%.
Every figure on this page is calculated from the stored official series (OECD, How's Life? Current well-being (OECD WISE)); the summary is written from the numbers, not edited by hand.