Housing Costs Outpacing Incomes Across the Country
For most low- and middle-income Americans, the cost of renting a modest apartment is severely mismatched to hourly wages, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Out of Reach finds that in 2017, the average U.S. worker would need to earn more than $21 per hour, roughly 30 percent more than the average U.S. renter’s wage, to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. A minimum-wage worker can afford to rent a small one-bedroom apartment in just 12 counties, and would have to work more than 60 hours per week to afford rent in most states, according to the report.