An hourly wage of $22.10 is now what’s needed to afford a typical, modest two-bedroom rental nationwide, according to a new report released Wednesday, and most renters don’t earn nearly that much.
In its report, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimated that the typical renter instead earns just $16.88, meaning that for most the average “affordable” rental housing, as defined by the government, is not within financial reach.
The new estimate of $22.10 is up almost $1 from the $21.21 estimate a year earlier.
In many big cities, the gap between what people earn and what would be needed for a rental is much bigger. In San Francisco, for instance, you need to earn $60 an hour to afford the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rent.
In no city or county can a minimum wage worker afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to the report, which is released annually.
HUD defines affordability as spending no more than 30 percent of gross household income on housing.
About half of renters spend that much or more on their apartments, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, a situation that has led to HUD declaring a rental “crisis.”
“In the richest country in history, no family should have to make the awful choice between putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote in the preface to the report. Sanders called for increasing government affordable housing programs and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
HUD secretary Ben Carson has called for reforming the way that his agency calculates rent subsidies in order to free up more slots for people who need them. Democrats have argued that his approach would raise rents on poor renters.
