What you’d need to earn per hour in each U.S. state to afford a standard 2-BR apartment. (Image: National Low Income Housing Coalition)
A full-time minimum wage isn’t enough money to rent an averagely priced one-bedroom home anywhere in the U.S., according to an annual report issued recently by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The report illustrates the stark reality facing low-income workers in the U.S. For instance, a full-time worker earning $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage, would need to work 122 hours a week to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home, priced at the national average fair market rent of $1,149, and still have money left for other necessities.
“The same worker needs to work 99 hours per week for all 52 weeks of the year, or approximately two and a half full-time jobs, to afford a one-bedroom home at the national average fair market rent,” the report reads. “In no state, metropolitan area, or county can a worker earning the federal minimum wage or prevailing state minimum wage afford a two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent by working a standard 40-hour week.”
(To read the complete article visit: https://bigthink.com/stephen-johnson/report-minimum-wage-jobs-cant-pay-the-rent-anywhere-in-us)