Household financial obligations as a share of household income, for renters and homeowners, 1980–2011

	Renters	Homeowners
	Total	Total	Mortgage	Consumer
1980	24.3%	13.8%	8.3%	5.4%
1989	25.1	15.4	9.9	5.5
2000	29.6	14.9	8.7	6.2
2007	25.2	17.5	11.2	6.2
2011	24.1	14.4	9.5	4.9
Change
1980–1989	0.8	1.7	1.6	0.1
1989–2000	4.5	-0.5	-1.2	0.7
2000–2007	-4.5	2.6	2.5	0.1
2007–2011	-1.0	-3.1	-1.7	-1.4
1980–2011	-0.2	0.6	1.2	-0.6

Note: The financial obligations ratio is the ratio of debt payments (including minimum required payments on mortgages, consumer debt, automobile leases, homeowners’ insurance, property tax payments, and rent) to disposable personal income.

Source: Federal Reserve Board (2010b) data.

Documentation and methodology

Data refer to annual averages from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), “Household Debt Service and Financial Obligations Ratios.” Per the FRB, the financial obligations ratio (FOR) adds automobile lease payments, rental payments on tenant-occupied property, homeowners’ insurance, and property tax payments to the debt service ratio (an estimate of the ratio of debt payments on outstanding mortgage and consumer debt, to disposable personal income). The homeowner mortgage FOR includes payments on mortgage debt, homeowners’ insurance, and property taxes, while the homeowner consumer FOR includes payments on consumer debt and automobile leases.