联邦政府在融资农村住房中的作用

The Federal Government’s Rolein Financing Rural Housing APRIL | 2026 At a Glance Households in rural communities may face barriers to purchasing homes or finding suitable rentalproperties. The federal government—primarily through the Rural Housing Service (RHS) of theDepartment of Agriculture—offers loan guarantees, direct loans, payment assistance, and other formsof financial support to eligible households in those areas. In this report, the Congressional BudgetOffice examines rural housing demographics, federal credit programs and other programs that sup-port those communities, and the total budgetary effects of those federal credit programs. •Characteristics of Rural Households.In general, counties with a higher proportion of residentsliving in rural communities have lower median household income and higher median rates ofhomeownership.•Sources of Support for Rural Housing.RHS fully supports rural households—that is, 100percent of its program activities assist rural households. Rural households also may receive federalassistance through the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs,andFannie Mae and Freddie Mac; 10 to 20 percent of those programs’ activities support ruralhousing.•Amount of Federal Credit Assistance.CBO estimates that in 2026, the federal government willprovide $293 billion in credit assistance to rural households through loans and loan guarantees.CBO calculated the lifetime budgetary effects of that assistance using two methods: one based onspecifications in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) and one based on a measure offair value (that is, accounting for market risk). Using those two methods, CBO estimates that thelifetime budgetary effects of the assistance will be a savings of $3.4billion or a cost of $3.2billion,respectively. Contents Summary Identifying Rural Areas in the United States Characteristics of Rural Counties2Demographic Characteristics2Rates of Homeownership3Types of Residence3Housing Costs4Cost Burden of Housing4Mortgages6Home Values6 Federal Credit Programs That Support Homeowners in Rural Areas Section 502 Guaranteed Loan ProgramOther RHS ProgramsOther Federal and Conventional Loan Programs Federal Credit Programs That Support Renters in Rural Areas8Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program8Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Direct Loan Program8Other Federal Programs for Renters8 Secondary Market Support for Rural Housing Finance Ginnie MaeFarmer MacFannie Mae and Freddie Mac Other Federal Programs That Support Rural Communities10 FCRA and Fair Value Estimates11Lifetime Budgetary Effects of Assistance Administered by RHS12Lifetime Budgetary Effects of Assistance Administered by Other Entities13Combined Lifetime Budgetary Effects13 Sensitivity Analysis of the Budgetary Effects of Federal Credit Programs for Rural Housing List of Tables and Figures16 About This Document17 Single-Family Guarantee Programs12 Notes About This Report Unless this report indicates otherwise, all years referred to are federal fiscal years, which run fromOctober 1 to September 30 and are designated by the calendar year in which they end. In this report, the United States refers to all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Community characteristics are measured at the household level and represent a profile of communi-ties over the 2019–2023 period. Numbers in the text, tables, and figures may not add up to totals because of rounding. The Federal Government’s Rolein Financing Rural Housing SummaryAccording to the 2020 census, approximately 66.3 mil- procedures) or a cost of $2.8billion (calculated using afair-value measure). The differences between the two setsof estimates—which are based on the same projectedcash flows—highlight the effect of incorporating marketrisk into the costs of federal credit programs.1 lion people—about 20 percent of the U.S. population—live in rural areas. Households in those areas differ inmany ways—including income and education levels,racial and ethnic characteristics, and homeownershiprates—from households in more urban areas. They alsoface different barriers to purchasing a home or finding arental property. The federal government administers fed-eral credit programs that specifically support homeown-ers and renters in rural communities, most of which areadministered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA)through its Rural Housing Service (RHS). Other agen-cies also contribute to that assistance. Identifying Rural Areas in theUnited StatesAccording to the 2020 census, approximately 66.3 mil- lion people, or 29.3 million households, live in ruralareas. The population of rural areas accounts for about20 percent of the U.S. population (excluding PuertoRico and other island territories).2By contrast, accordingto a report published by the Census Bureau, rural areasaccounted for about 97 percent of the total land area ofthe United States in 2016 (seeFigure 1).3 In this report, the Congressio