Rural whites more likely to get emergency rent relief through December stimulus package

Rural, white Americans are more likely to benefit from an emergency rent assistance program passed in the December stimulus package, according to a USA Today analysis.

"Nearly 40 million Americans behind on rent and threatened with eviction have been waiting on aid from the federal government for nearly a year. Many believed help was on the way after Congress passed on Dec. 21 $25 billion in rental assistance that was supposed to pay rental arrears –in some cases covering up to 12 months of back rent," Romina Ruiz-Goiriena and Aleszu Bajak report for USA Today. "But the Emergency Assistance Rental Program won't benefit all Americans equally . . . The government payments will overwhelmingly benefit white Americans living in less populated states even though most Americans and most Americans affected by the pandemic and the recession live in the most populated states."

Part of the problem: the federal government calculated aid for the most-populated states according to total population but gave less-populated states a set amount. That means renters in more rural states like Vermont and Wyoming end up getting more aid per person, Ruiz-Goiriena and Bajak report.

"A USA Today analysis of rental allocation to all 50 states found Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming will receive substantially more money per eligible renter than other states. Vermont and Wyoming each received over $2,600 per renter compared with the national average of $837," Ruiz-Goiriena and Bajak report. "At $3.8 billion, heavily populated states New York and California received the highest amount of total aid overall but the least in per-renter funding, at $378.76 and $443.56 respectively." 

That amount won't cover the huge amounts of arrears many renters owe, most of whom are aged 40-54 and live in the South, the Northeast, or California, according to a Moody's Analytics report. The average renter is almost four months behind on rent and owes $5,600 on rent and utilities, plus another $50 per month for late penalties. "In all, Americans need $57 billion to pay off their back rent, about $32 billion short of the aid deployed to states," Ruiz-Goiriena and Bajak report. "The package Congress passed, according to Moody's analysis, will only be able to help some 3.5 million renters pay back rent and utilities."