States, Localities Helped More Than 3 Million Households Through Emergency Rental Assistance Programs in 2021

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released quarterly data on the use of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs — both ERA 1 and ERA 2 — in calendar year 2021. The data illustrates the programs’ notable success in reaching households most in need in an expedient manner, especially given the challenges of standing up brand-new emergency programs that required coordination among policy-makers, program administrators, technology providers, and landlord partners.

Between the two programs, state, local, and territorial grantees helped what is likely well north of three million low-income households pay their rent and/or utilities last year. (The sum of the unique households assisted in all four quarters is 3,264,981; however, it is possible some of those households received assistance in more than one quarter.)

In 2021, grantees obligated or spent more than $17.6 billion of ERA 1 — 73 percent of the total available to be expended by September 30, 2022 — and nearly $5.8 billion of ERA 2 — 29 percent of the total available to be expended by September 30, 2025.

ERA grantees assisted a significant number of households of color. The percentage of households served with ERA 1 who identified as Black or African American ranged from 35 to 48 percent of all households across quarters. The percentage of households served with ERA 1 who identified as Hispanic or Latino ranged from 14 to 20 percent of all households across quarters.

Minority households made up an even larger percentage of total households served with the more flexible ERA 2 funds, with households identifying as Black or African American making up between 44 and 64 percent of total households served across quarters and households identifying as either Hispanic or Latino making up between 5 and 24 percent of total households served across quarters.

Asian Americans accounted for between one and three percent of households served across quarters for both ERA 1 and ERA 2. American Indian or Alaska Native households accounted for between one and five percent of households served by states, localities, and territories with ERA 1 and ERA 2; however, the data does not include households served by tribal entities, which also received an allocation of assistance under ERA 1.

Nearly two-thirds of households served with both ERA 1 and ERA 2 in all quarters were extremely low income (earning less than 30 percent of area median income [AMI]). Very low-income households earning between 30 and 50 percent of AMI made up between 22 and 27 percent of total households served in both programs across quarters.