2-Bedroom Rental Housing Is ‘Out of Reach’
“A worker making federal minimum wage of $7.25 for 40 hours a week is unable to afford a two-bedroom rental anywhere in the country, according to a recent study. In its 2018 edition of its ‘Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing,’ the National Low Income Housing Coalition looked at the wages necessary to afford rental housing in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The annual report uses the national housing wage, which is the estimated full-time hourly wage a household must earn to afford a rental home at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rent. According to HUD, affordability is defined as spending no more than 30 percent of gross household income on housing costs. This housing wage is $22.10 per hour nationally for a two-bedroom rental, which is up from the $21.21 per hour national housing wage in last year’s report.”