The 2000 U.S. census found the cost of nearly one in three rental units in Minnesota was too high for the people living in them.

The rents in 27 percent of units in Minnesota consume at least 35 percent of the income of the people who occupy them. That amounted to 127,990 households in 471,466 units.

Federal officials and affordable housing advocates say, conservatively, that households should not pay more than 35 percent of their income for housing.

By that definition, the affordable housing crunch was most pronounced in the big cities, where often a quarter of the units are too expensive for their residents. The percentages: Duluth (33.4), St. Paul (30.7), Minneapolis (29.9), Rochester (29.8), Bloomington (27.2) and St. Cloud (24.6).

When adjusted for inflation, the price of the average rental unit increased only about 5 percent during the 1990s. However, that can be misleading.

While the median rent declined in several rural counties, such as aging Big Stone (down 20.4 percent), it spiked in urban counties and counties on the fringes of the metro area.

In Sherburne County, for example, the median rent jumped 32 percent. However, the rent of the average unit ($426) was still below the state median of $566.

Five Minnesota counties had median rents of $600 or more, the highest in the state: Washington ($699), St. Louis ($655), Hennepin ($654), Carver ($637) and Ramsey ($606).