WORCESTER, Mass. - A new report from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau shows the city's renter population is struggling and has become increasingly burdened by costs since 2010.

The report looks at data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey to compare numbers from 2010 to 2020. While homeowners have seen a drop in their monthly costs of more than 17%, renter households saw an almost 9% increase.

Renter households also make up a bigger percentage of occupied unites from 2010 to 2020, while households who own their homes have decreased.

"There's been two income levels among renters who are increasingly cost-burdened," said Paul Matthews, CEO and executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. "If the households make between $30,000 to $49,000 and $50,000 to $74,000, those are the middle-of-the-road income levels. They're the ones facing significant cost burden. It's important to note that's an economic underpinning of the overall Worcester economy."

The report also looks at communities who were redlined nearly a century ago and are still facing hardships. Redlining was the practice of outlining certain neighborhoods on maps as a warning to mortgage lenders, usually primarily impacting minorities. The report shows the areas that were redlined in the 1930s are still disproportionately impacted and have the highest rate of renting.