From food to health care to housing, affordability is a major issue for many in the U.S., and affordability issues are very much on the minds of voters — and politicians — as we saw in recent elections.

Now more data from a couple of progressive groups reveals just how prices are pinching Americans when it comes to utility bills.

A new analysis out from the Century Foundation and the nonprofit Protect Borrowers finds that almost 14 million Americans, about one in 20 households, are so far behind on their utility bills that their debt has either been sent to collections or is about to be.

“Families need electricity. That’s why utilities often rank right behind home and auto loans when it comes to which bills families must pay first,” said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the Century Foundation. “Since 2022, the average overdue balance on utility bills climbed 32%, to nearly $800 today.”

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association says the average cost to heat a home this winter will go up 7.6% to almost $1,000 for the season.

“You have a rising cost burden, you also have less kind of certainty around the typical sources of support,” said Diana Hernandez, who teaches at Columbia University and studies energy insecurity.

Like funding for energy assistance programs — delayed due to the shutdown.

“Families must choose between paying their utility bill, higher costs for food, childcare and, you know, unaffordable housing,” said Lelaine Bigelow, who runs the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Meaning affordability will be both a personal and political issue for some time to come.