Good piece by the BLS of the average annual expenditures of renters and homeowners.
In 2010, people who rented their residences paid more, on average, in annual rent ($8,798) than homeowners reported paying in mortgage interest and charges ($8,202). In the last 25 years, this has only happened twice: in 2010 and in 2004.
For nearly all subcategories of housing, homeowners spent much more on average than renters in 2010. Homeowners ($1,689) paid 20 times more for maintenance, repairs, and insurance than renters ($82), reflecting the direct payment of renters’ maintenance costs by many landlords. Homeowners ($4,314) spent almost twice as much as renters ($2,413) on utilities.
In 2010, homeowners and renters reported different total expenditures, on average, on telephone services ($1,289 and $952, respectively). However, there were some similarities within the telephone services category—homeowners spent $789, on average, on cellular phone service, and renters averaged $704 for the year.
(click here if chart is not observable)
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