Business

You have to work more than 100 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom rental on minimum wage: report

by Adam Barnes - 06/15/23 4:12 PM ET

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Low-income housing advocates seek the passage of laws that enable the preservation of more than 1.5 million affordable rental homes.

Full-time workers nationwide need to earn more than $23 hourly to afford a modest one-bedroom rental, according to a new report.

The report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimated the hourly wages necessary for full-time workers to afford either a one- or two-bedroom rental without paying more than 30 percent of their monthly income.

Full-time employees need $23.67 per hour to afford a fair market, one-bedroom rental home without exceeding the 30 percent threshold. For a modest two-bedroom rental, workers must earn $28.58 an hour.

The report also found there are no states where minimum wage workers putting in 40 hours weekly can afford a modest two-bedroom rental. A worker earning minimum wage must work an average of 104 hours per week to earn enough to pay for it.

For a one-bedroom rental, an employee making minimum wage would need to notch 86 hours a week.

Fifty percent of workers do not earn enough during a 40-hour work week to afford a one-bedroom.

File - Francisco Santana buys groceries at the Walmart Supercenter in North Bergen, N.J. on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. On Friday, the Commerce Department issues its April report on consumer spending. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File) — Francisco Santana buys groceries at a Walmart Supercenter in North Bergen, N.J., on Feb. 9. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

“Stable, affordable homes are a prerequisite for basic well-being, and no person should face the danger of losing their home,” NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel said in a statement.

“Yet too many low-income renters are facing worsening housing instability as housing costs rise and pandemic-era safety net programs expire,” she added.

Rents have soared in recent years amid a broader housing shortage that was exacerbated by the pandemic and growing inflation. Yet rents are stabilizing, and some markets are showing prices decline.

Still, wages failed to keep up with median rental price growth even before the pandemic-era boom. Nationwide rents grew by 17.9 percent between 2001 and 2021, while wages increased by just 3.2 percent, according to the report.

Meanwhile, housing costs continue to be a persistent driver of inflation. Consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent last month and are up 4 percent since last year, according to the consumer price index released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

But the cost of housing increased by 0.6 percent from April, making it the largest factor in the monthly increase in inflation. Prices are now 8 percent higher than they were a year ago on an unadjusted basis.