Real estate prices may have fallen significantly but many US citizens are still struggling to meet housing costs, it has been claimed.

According to an analysis of census data commissioned by USA Today, 38 per cent of mortgage borrowers spent 30 per cent or more or their pre-tax income on housing.

Those with annual incomes under $50,000 struggled the most, with 75 per cent having problems paying home loans, compared to 23 per cent of those with incomes over $50,000, the news provider reports.

The analysis, carried out by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, also revealed that homeowners in Miami-Fort Lauderdale in Florida were hit particularly hard by mortgage debt, followed by those in Stockton, California.

Earlier this month, a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association revealed that debt problems had caused almost one in ten US homeowners to either fall behind on their mortgage payments or experience foreclosure at the end of June.

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