Households struggling to find affordable rents

Rents aren't as affordable as they were, and are becoming burdensome for a growing segment of the local population.

In the Philadelphia region, there's growing concern regarding the affordability of rental units for low income households, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report.

The number of households struggling to find affordable rentals jumped from 25 percent in 2007 to 42 percent in 2012, the latest figures available in the study.

In the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, "a growing percentage of lower-income renters in the region are facing burdensome housing costs," the study's authors wrote.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia serves the Fed's Third District, which covers eastern and central Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

- Erin Arvedlund