Mississippi among states where renters face highest risk of eviction, report shows
The risk of eviction for Mississippi renters is among the highest in the nation, according to a new analysis.
A new report from AdvisorSmith puts the Magnolia State among the top 5 U.S. states where tenants are most at risk of being booted amid tough financial times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from Oct. 28 to Nov. 9, analysts looked at households with delinquent rent payments and other key factors to rank the states where renters face the highest risk of eviction.
Mississippi landed at No. 5 on the list with 14% of rental households statewide facing eviction, according to the report from AdvisorSmith, an insurance resources company. About 33% percent of renters were behind on their payments, and of those households, data show 42.5% were likely to be evicted in the next two months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide ban on evictions earlier this year, keeping struggling renters in their homes. However, experts say the ban has been applied unevenly in some states, with some landlords and renters largely unaware that a moratorium is even in place, according to AdvisorSmith.
So where else in the U.S. are renters most at risk of losing their homes?
South Carolina topped the list with the highest risk of eviction at 21%, followed by Florida, Maryland, Arizona and Mississippi to round out the top five, according to the rankings.
The opposite was true in Maine, where just 0.2% of rental households statewide are facing eviction — the lowest risk in the nation, according to AdvisorSmith. Other states with low risk of eviction include Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii and Iowa.
“The economic impact (of COVID-19) has been unevenly distributed across the country,” according to AdvisorSmith, which adds that “states vary in terms of their housing and rental stock and the amount of economic stress on their residents.”
A $900 billion economic relief bill signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday includes $600 direct payments to millions of Americans based on income. The much-awaited bill also provides a moratorium on evictions, extended job benefits and money for small businesses.
A report by WalletHub released earlier this year also put two Mississippi cities — Gulfport and Jackson — at the near-bottom of a national list of the best U.S. cities for renters, McClatchy News reported.