Out of Reach 2019
From National Low Income Housing Coalition, June, 2019
About the Report
Out of Reach documents the significant gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing across the United States. The report’s central statistic, the Housing Wage, is an estimate of the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home at HUD’s fair market rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of his or her income on housing costs, the accepted standard of affordability. The FMR is an estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental home in a given area.
Housing is Out of Reach
A full-time worker needs to earn an hourly wage of $22.96 on average to afford a modest, two-bedroom rental home in the U.S. This Housing Wage for a two-bedroom home is $15.71 higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and $5.39 higher than the national average hourly wage of $17.57 earned by renters. In nine states and the District of Columbia, the two-bedroom Housing Wage is more than $25.00 per hour.
read … Full Report
Hawaii Report
In Hawaii, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,914. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $6,381 monthly or $76,577 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into an hourly Housing Wage of:
- STATE HOUSING WAGE $36.82 PER HOUR
- Urban Honolulu, HI MSA $39.75
- Kalawao County $32.21
- Maui County $32.21
- Kauai County $29.44
- Hawaii County $25.88
read … Hawaii Report
CB: Honolulu Workers Need $39.75 Per Hour To Rent A 2-BR
SA: Hawaii has highest gap between wages, rent required for a 2-bedroom
SA Editorial: Affordable rental shortage worsens
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