The Hidden Health Cost of Housing
Eviction isn’t simply displacement. It correlates with low birth weights and preterm births, increased infant mortality, increased ED utilization, poor mental health days, and suicide in adults who experience it (Environment & Health Data Portal, 2024). And this is taking into account only crude eviction - just being threatened with eviction before it occurs is associated with increased risk of hypertension, depression, and anxiety (Environment & Health Data Portal, 20 24).
A house is exposure. It’s the environment you live in every single day, stacked up on top of each other. The infrastructure, the water pipes that may or may not contain lead, the indoor air quality, whether your heater works in the winter, how many people are crowding into how many bedrooms: these things add up, quietly, year after year. By the time you step into a healthcare facility, much of your health has been predetermined by the structure you live in.
Instability in Homes
Housing instability isn't just one experience. It can include falling behind on rent payments, overcrowding, frequent moves, or spending a larger portion of income on housing than needed to maintain a stable living environment (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d.-a). Each of these factors can cause stress on its own. But imagine experiencing more than one of these factors at the same time. Children notice their living environment, and these challenges can show up years later.
Researchers gave 9-year-olds tests on memory, math, and vocabulary. Children who had experienced an eviction in the year leading up to the test had lower scores equivalent to an entire school year of learning (Urban Institute, 2026). Kids who move frequently and as a result change schools frequently are also less likely to graduate high school on time (Urban Institute, 2026). You don’t need to experience one defining moment that uproots your life. Housing instability can build up from small stresses semester after semester.
Within the Walls
Owning a home doesn't inherently mean you're living in a healthy environment. Lead exposure best illustrates this. Lead-based paint is the most prevalent source of lead exposure in the United States, and it is more prevalent in older homes, which are more likely to be inhabited by families experiencing poverty (Urban Institute, 2026). And it really doesn’t take much lead to kill you: a national longitudinal study found that low blood lead levels were associated with any cause mortality and also cardiovascular mortality and mortality due to heart conditions specifically (Urban Institute, 2026).
We see a similar trend with mold. Leaks and poor ventilation give mold space to grow, and mold exposure can worsen respiratory symptoms and illnesses such as asthma, coughing, and wheezing (ODPHP, n. d.-b). Throw in no smoke alarms or improperly set water heaters or exposed heating elements and you start to see how a home’s structural quality can quickly become a driving factor in its residents’ health (ODPHP, n.d.-b).
The Problem Hiding in Plain Sight: Overcrowding
While eviction and mold often get attention, overcrowding presents its own serious challenges. Crowding is defined as having more than two residents per bedroom or multiple families living together in one residence (ODPHP, n. d.-a). Crowding itself has been associated with increased stress, poor sleep, relationship conflict, and higher rates of infectious disease transmission (ODPHP, n.d.-a).
It almost never occurs by itself either. A systematic review found that homes with crowding were also more likely to have mold or mildew, pests, peeling paint, and lead. Crowding is likely a marker for multiple hazards present and compounded, not just one issue (Rönkä et al., 2022).
A Problem That Follows People Into Adulthood
The health impacts of childhood housing don’t end with childhood. Associations have been found between crowded or poor-quality childhood housing and heart disease, developmental delay, poor mental health, and shorter stature in adulthood (Krieger & Higgins, 2002). Someone’s childhood home can haunt their medical records years later.
Why This Is Hard to Fix
The upsetting part is that this isn’t really a mystery. Scientists have been finding and reporting these connections for years. The harder problem is that families with the least resources don’t always have a choice: affordable housing is increasingly the most rundown housing (ODPHP, n. d.-a). Renters either don’t pay (landlords) or can’t afford to pay (tenants) to fix lead paint, mold, or overcrowding. Families exposed to these problems tend to have the least power.
The Takeaway
Your home should be the safest place you can be. For too many families, it’s actually a silent chronic exposure to harmful health conditions they face before their child learns how to speak and accumulate over decades. The science connecting lead, mold, overcrowding, and long-term health is well documented. What remains to be seen is what it takes to ensure every family can attain and afford a safe, stable home.
Refererences
Environment & Health Data Portal. (2024, March 5). Housing creates health. NYC Department of Health. https://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/data-stories/housing-creates-health/
Krieger, J., & Higgins, D. L. (2002). Housing and health: Time again for public health action. American Journal of Public Health, 92(5), 758–768. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3222229/
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.-a). Housing instability. Healthy People 2030. Retrieved July 12, 2026, from https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/housing-instability
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.-b). Quality of housing. Healthy People 2030. Retrieved July 12, 2026, from https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/quality-housing
Rönkä, A., et al. (2022). Overcrowding and hazardous dwelling condition characteristics: A systematic search and scoping review of relevance for health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 15542. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9736286/
Urban Institute. (2026, February 18). How housing matters for educational, health, and economic outcomes. Housing Matters. https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles/how-housing-matters-educational-health-and-economic-outcomes
