America’s Mismatch between Wages and Rental Prices is More Perverse Than Ever

There is not a single state, county, or metro area where a simple two-bedroom rental is affordable for a person working full time at the local statutory minimum wage.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach report found that the average U.S. worker would need to earn a whopping $21.21 per hour, nearly three times the federal $7.75 minimum wage, to reasonably afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The Coalition also disclosed that the 12 counties nationwide where a minimum wage worker can afford rent for a modest one-bedroom unit, the housing was in sparsely populated rural areas far away from job centers.

Read More