About half of Fall River and New Bedford renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent and utilities, Census figures show
New Bedford's poverty rate, 22.8%, was well above the state's 9.8%. About 3 in 10 New Bedford children lived below the poverty line.
SOUTH COAST About half of the renters in Fall River and New Bedford spend 30% or more of their household income on rent and utilities, about the same share as renters statewide, even though rents in both cities run hundreds of dollars a month below the Massachusetts median, according to 2025 American Community Survey figures the Census Bureau released Thursday, Oct. 29.
In New Bedford, 51% of renter households paid 30% or more of their income for rent and utilities, and 32.4% paid half or more. In Fall River, the figures were 49.5% and 27.6%. Statewide, 52.5% of renters paid 30% or more and 26.8% paid half or more. The city figures carry margins of error of about 7 to 9 percentage points, so neither city's share differs from the state's by more than the survey can measure.
That is about 12,500 renter households in New Bedford and about 11,300 in Fall River paying at least 30% of their income in rent. About 7,900 New Bedford renter households and about 6,300 in Fall River paid half or more.
Lower rents, lower incomes
The median gross rent, which counts rent plus the utilities and fuel a renter pays, was $1,289 a month in New Bedford and $1,439 in Fall River in 2025. Bristol County's median was $1,470, the state's $1,962 and the nation's $1,557. New Bedford's median rent was $673 below the state's and Fall River's was $523 below it.
Incomes trail the state by a wider margin. The median household income was $60,902 in New Bedford and $63,827 in Fall River, against $106,539 statewide and $84,780 nationally. Renter households earn less than the city figure: the median renter household made $40,069 in New Bedford and $50,259 in Fall River, compared with $52,596 across Bristol County and $67,180 statewide. In New Bedford, the median homeowner household made $92,893.
Renters are the majority in both cities. About 61% of New Bedford households and 60% of Fall River households rent, compared with 37% of households statewide and 36% across Bristol County.
| New Bedford | Fall River | Bristol County | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent a month | $1,289 | $1,439 | $1,470 | $1,962 |
| Median household income | $60,902 | $63,827 | $95,389 | $106,539 |
| Median income of renter households | $40,069 | $50,259 | $52,596 | $67,180 |
| Renters paying 30% or more of income | 51% | 49.5% | 48.5% | 52.5% |
| Renters paying 50% or more of income | 32.4% | 27.6% | 26.6% | 26.8% |
| Households that rent | 61.2% | 60.1% | 36.3% | 37.2% |
| Residents below the poverty line | 22.8% | 13.8% | 10.1% | 9.8% |
| Children below the poverty line | 30.5% | 14.3% | 12.5% | 11.1% |
| Median value of an owner's home | $414,300 | $441,200 | $519,600 | $626,900 |
Poverty
In New Bedford, 22.8% of residents lived below the federal poverty line in 2025, well above the state rate of 9.8% and the national rate of 11.8%. That is about 22,900 people. In Fall River, 13.8% of residents lived below the line, about 12,900 people, a rate above the state's. Across Bristol County, the rate was 10.1%.
Among children under 18, 30.5% of New Bedford children lived below the poverty line, about 7,600 children, against 11.1% statewide and 14.8% nationally. That city figure has a margin of error of about 9 percentage points, and even at the low end it is well above the state's. In Fall River, 14.3% of children lived below the line, a rate the survey cannot separate from the state's.
Homeowners
The median value of an owner-occupied home was $414,300 in New Bedford and $441,200 in Fall River, according to what owners told the survey. That is below the county median of $519,600 and the state median of $626,900, and above the national median of $371,100.
What changed from 2024
From the 2024 survey to the 2025 survey, most of the two cities' figures moved by less than the margin of error, so a one-year rise or fall in a city's rent burden or poverty rate cannot be read from these numbers. Two Fall River figures did move by more than the margins: the median household income, up from $50,778 in the 2024 survey (in 2024 dollars), and the share of households that rent, down from 68.4%. Across Bristol County, the share of renters paying 30% or more of their income fell to 48.5% from 55.5%, a drop larger than the margins of error. The county's median gross rent rose to $1,470 from $1,354, and the state's rose to $1,962 from $1,848, figures not adjusted for inflation.
How the numbers work
The American Community Survey is a yearly Census Bureau survey of households. Its 1-year estimates are published only for places of 65,000 people or more, so New Bedford and Fall River are the only South Coast communities with their own 2025 figures. Taunton, Dartmouth and the smaller towns are counted only in their county totals and get their own figures in the bureau's five-year estimates.
Each figure is an estimate from a sample, with a margin of error at 90% confidence. We counted a difference between two places, or between two years, only when it was larger than the combined margins. The rent share compares a household's monthly rent and utilities with its monthly income, figured from what it earned in the 12 months before the survey. The rent shares leave out renter households whose share cannot be computed, those paying no cash rent or reporting no income. Incomes are in 2025 dollars. Rents and home values are the dollar amounts reported each year.
For households behind on heating bills, SC360 has explained the winter shutoff protection that starts Nov. 15 and this winter's energy relief.
The latest jobless rates for both cities are in SC360's September report.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every figure comes from the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey 1-year detailed tables, posted Oct. 29, 2026, and the matching 2024 tables, with the bureau's table labels and geography codes. We read them on Nov. 1. The rent shares, renter counts, poverty rates and child poverty rates were added up from the table lines, with their margins of error combined, and every comparison in the story was checked against those margins. The release date and the 65,000 population threshold come from the bureau's Oct. 13 release and its 2025 data release page.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (5)
- 2025 American Community Survey 1-year Summary File, detailed tables B19013, B25064, B25070, B17001, B25077, B25003 and B25119, U.S. Census BureauFiles posted Oct. 29, 2026; rows for New Bedford city, Fall River city, Bristol County, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and the United States, with 90% margins of error. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
- 2024 American Community Survey 1-year Summary File, the same detailed tables, U.S. Census BureauUsed only for the change from 2024. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
- 2025 ACS 1-year table shells and geography file, U.S. Census BureauLine labels and universes for each table, and the geography codes for each place. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
- Census Bureau Announces Release Dates, Webinars, and Embargo of 2025 American Community Survey 1-Year EstimatesRelease dated Oct. 13, 2026: release on Oct. 29; 1-year estimates for areas of 65,000 or more. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
- 2025 Data Release New and Notable, U.S. Census BureauConfirms the 2025 1-year estimates were released Oct. 29. Read Nov. 1, 2026.