Here's The Hourly Income You Need To Afford Rent Around The U.S., And It's Not Looking Good

[William769]

ull-time workers who make minimum wage can’t afford a one-bedroom rental home in any state in the U.S. without spending more than the recommended 30 percent of their income, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

The group’s annual “Out of Reach” report compares minimum wages and housing costs in states, metropolitan areas and counties across the country. This year’s results show the hourly wage rate needed for a “modest” two-bedroom rental in 2022 is more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in every single state.

Nationally, a person would need to make $25.82 per hour to pay for a modest two bedroom rental home without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. For a modest one-bedroom rental, it’s $21.25.

Even where local minimum wages are higher than the federal standard, it’s not enough. “No local minimum wages are sufficient to afford a one-bedroom rental home at the fair market rent with a 40-hour workweek,” the group states.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/here-s-the-hourly-income-you-need-to-afford-rent-around-the-u-s-and-it-s-not-looking-good/ar-AA1ifP5n?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ENTPHB&cvid=762e66468a2c477a8da0e57d826e653a&ei=49

[FakeNoose]

1. Damn, Puerto Rico's not looking bad!

[William769]

2. I wouldn't mind living there.

[moniss]

18. Rents

are cheap but jobs can be tricky. I love PR when you get away from San Juan.

[progressoid]

19. Except for that hurricaine issue.

?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1

[CrispyQ]

3. Here's a link to a map you can read. Pages 21 & 22.

https://reports.nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_BOOK_2020.pdf

Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour & hasn't been raised since 2009. Shameful, absolutely shameful.

[William769]

4. Thanks!

[moniss]

25. Another measure of sorts

is a new basic Honda Civic in 2009 had a sticker starting around $16K. The 2023 starts at just over $23K. That percentage trend of about a 50% increase in pricing follows through on the used market for cars also. Many times in cities where better paying jobs have moved to the suburban industrial parks there are transportation barriers for people to be able to reliably get to those jobs. Mass transit may not serve the area etc. Hitching rides and car pooling are not always a sure thing right away and employers want to know you will be at work every day and not have transportation issues.

[sheshe2]

5. That's depressing.

Out of Reach is a fact.

[William769]

6. Click your ruby red slippers three times, maybe we will find sanity again.

[sheshe2]

10. We can see if it will work.

[thatdemguy]

7. in 1995 my rent was 50% of my take home

For a modest 1 bedroom, add in electric and it was about 60%. I brought home right at 250 a week and my rent was 485, electric was another 100.

I spent 11 bucks a week on grocerys, and most of that was oodle of noodles. I was in local 24 ibew, and paid more in union dues than I ate a week.

It sucked

[William769]

8. How much do you spend now?

[thatdemguy]

13. well my mortgage is

just over 30% of my take home. All the extras for tv, electric etc run 350-650 a month depending on the time of the year. But I make a lot more than I did 30 years ago. I also have a house on 5 acres.

[aggiesal]

22. When I graduated from collegein 1984, I got a job just north of Silicon Valley on the peninsula ...

I was making $13.80/hr.
My rent was $500/mo.
That was a little under 50% (45.3%) of my take home pay.

I had to pay Gas, Electric & Telephone (Cell phones only existed in Get Smart or Star Trek TV shows)

[TimeToGo]

28. That was a good deal at the time

We paid $700 a month in the early 80s in the Bay Area. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. Nice enough, but not special. Loved it out there, but that was one of the main reasons for leaving.

[aggiesal]

30. I moved after 11 years. I found myself chasing the down payment. n/t

$500 was for 1BdRm, 1 Ba. apartment

[TimeToGo]

33. Yes

[BigmanPigman]

9. Between health insur ( for those under 65) and rent you can NOT afford to live.

[crud]

11. No matter what we do

we just can't solve the homeless crisis.

[Jerry2144]

20. The bigger crisis is that the

Typical billionaire can’t afford the aircraft carrier sized yachts while paying their 0% tax rates.


Note:

[sanatanadharma]

12. I will never be able to afford returning to the States

In Montevideo, Uruguay rent a one bedroom sea-side*, all rooms sea-view, 4th floor apartment with 50 foot wide balcony overlooking the water and a park, with potable water and heat for $1060.00 US per month in a historic building.
My cardiologist visit next month will be $15 US.

* Technically the very wide Rio de la Plata estuary here is not sea but 60 miles upriver, though it is here called 'el mar'.

[doc03]

14. That is for a 40 hour work week. In many cases people need two jobs to get 40 hours pay. nt

[4lbs]

15. There's a reason a lot of people now are doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling up in their living

arrangements. Just to be able to afford to live.

I know of 4 people (two couples), that rent a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house for $4000 per month locally. That comes out to pretty much $1000 per person just for rent. They were able to wrangle a 2-year lease with the landlord, so that the price is stable for that time.

Each couple lives in a bedroom, and the 3rd bedroom is for their children, each couple has one child. The children share a bedroom (they are really young right now and both are boys).

Add in health insurance, car insurance, transportation (gas, etc.), food, utilities, etc. and that is easily another $1000 monthly each.

So, $2000 per month per person just to live "normally". Remember, that is just RENT. No home ownership or equity buildup. They are somewhat young right now (each couple is in their later 20's).

If one couple was to move away, it would be very difficult for the other couple to do anything. They would also have to leave and go to a much smaller place, or else try to replace those that left.

[Grasswire2]

16. wow

what is the remedy?

[thesquanderer]

24. A minimum wage person could look for a studio apartment instead of a 1BR/2BR. Or even a share.

I don't find it surprising that minimum wage doesn't provide the ideal living standard.

Longer term, hopefully, the remedy is that someone can get a better than minimum wage job.

But for students working summer jobs, people working their first job out of high school... I don't really see an inherent problem with their not being able to afford a 2 BR apartment (or even a 1 BR) with just 30% of their pay. I think this is the kind of thing that gets the right looking at the left like we're crazy.

[gristy]

27. Yes. I rented a room in various houses for years after college

Eventually, and with the parents help, I could afford to buy a small 4 BR house, and I rented out 3 BR to 3 friends.

[Kaleva]

32. Go back to how it used to be

Several generations living in one home

[Ford_Prefect]

17. With more than 25% of all rental housing owned by investment firms and

both rents and property values inflated to suit them, things will get worse long before better arrives.

[JCMach1]

23. This is what has to stop. Family homes should not be investment

Class assets ...

[Warpy]

21. I don't know how people in Mass. are managing it

Whenever I start to get homesick, I just check the rents in my none too good neighborhood.

Congress still hasn't raised the national minimum wage from $7.25.

[tiredtoo]

26. Greed is not good or pretty.

Lots of work to do to turn this around.

[cstanleytech]

29. What sucks is that raising the minimum wage won't actually lift people up and out of poverty because

corporations just hike their prices and we are back in the same damn boat.
What's really needed is a change that is more likely to accomplish lifting people up and out is by approaching the problem with both a carrot and a stick.
The stick being a massive tax increase on corporations but the tasty carrot being that they can reduce their taxes depending on how many of their workers earn more than +500% of the federal poverty level as set automatically by the GAO without needing the consent of the Whitehouse or Congress.
Temp and contract workers (other than construction workers and similar such workers) also count as employees if a company excessively uses such workers.

[Kaleva]

31. A 2 bedroom apt costs between $800- $900 a month where I live

Rent includes utilities except electricity