Out of Reach, a program by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, has put together a couple of rather startling maps that show the hourly wage a person would need to earn in order to afford a two-bedroom rental in every state. As you can see, it’s far greater than minimum-wage in almost all areas of the country.
In their report, they point out that at the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour a person would need to work 85 to 86 hours a week on average in America just to afford a ONE-bedroom apartment.
Here’s the breakdown by state using those same statistics…
In 2015, the TWO-bedroom national housing wage is $19.35 in order to afford an apartment without spending more than 30% of their income on rent (a common yet seemingly outdated standard).
In 13 states and the District of Columbia they need to earn more than $20 per hour. The Housing Wage for a two-bedroom unit is more than two and a half times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and $4 more than the estimated average wage of $15.16 earned by renters nationwide. Find the data for your state, nonmetropolitan or metropolitan area, or county by clicking on the map [located here].
In no state can a person working full-time at minimum wage afford a one-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent.
Every year since 1989 Out of Reach has shown the gap between wages and rents across the country and the gap continues to grow as the cost of housing increases more quickly than earnings. A renter earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would need to work 85 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom rent at the Fair Market Rent and 102 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom Fair Market Rent.
Something we all might want to think about as we get ready to choose our next President and other government leaders, huh?
Apartments image by Shutterstock