As housing costs increase across the U.S., it seems that renting a home is becoming a luxury for the middle and upper class.
No really.
A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition entitled Out of Reach 2017 the High Cost of Housing, showed workers earning the federal or state minimum wage and working 40 hours per week can only afford a one-bedroom rental home in 12 counties.
And only 0.1% of renter households reside in these affordable areas. In fact, the report shows 76.4% of renter households would need to work more than 60 hours per week at minimum wage in order to rent a home without paying more than 30% of their income.
The map below shows where renters need to work the most hours at their state or federal minimum wage to afford renting their home:
Click to Enlarge
(Source: NLIHC)
NLIHC ranked all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to see the state housing wage, or how much a renter would need to make per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment while working 40 hours per week and paying 30% of their income toward housing. Here are the top 10:
10. Washington – $23.64
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,229
Minimum wage: $11
Average renter wage: $17.77
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 86
9. Alaska – $24.16
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,256
Minimum wage: $9.80
Average renter wage: $19.11
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 99
8. Connecticut – $24.72
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,285
Minimum wage: $10.10
Average renter wage: $16.97
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 98
7. New Jersey – $27.31
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,420
Minimum wage: $8.44
Average renter wage: $17.86
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 129
6. Massachusetts – $27.39
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,424
Minimum wage: $11
Average renter wage: $19.70
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 100
5. New York – $28.08
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,460
Minimum wage: $9.70
Average renter wage: $23.98
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 116
4. Maryland – $28.27
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,470
Minimum wage: $9.25
Average renter wage: $16.88
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 122
3. California – $30.92
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,608
Minimum wage: $10.50
Average renter wage: $20.66
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 118
2. Washington D.C. – $33.58
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,746
Minimum wage: $12.50
Average renter wage: $27.20
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 107
1. Hawaii – $35.20
Two-bedroom apartment: $1,830
Minimum wage: $9.25
Average renter wage: $15.64
Hours to work per week to rent two-bedroom home at minimum wage: 152
To compare other U.S. markets, or see more data on the top 10, click here.
