Out of Reach 2015

How Much do you Need to Earn to Afford a Modest Apartment in Your State?

From National Low Income Housing Coalition

Housing is Out of Reach -- Millions of Americans struggle to find affordable rents.

In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment in the U.S., renters need to earn a wage of $19.35 per hour. In 13 states and the District of Columbia they need to earn more than $20 per hour. The Housing Wage for a two-bedroom unit is more than two and a half times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and $4 more than the estimated average wage of $15.16 earned by renters nationwide. Find the data for your state, nonmetropolitan or metropolitan area, or county by clicking on the map above.

LINK: Hawaii Report

HAWAII -- 2-Bedroom Housing Wage

Statewide average: $31.61 (Highest in USA)

• HONOLULU COUNTY $34.81 
• MAUI COUNTY $24.31
• KAUAI COUNTY $23.50
• HAWAII COUNTY $22.13
• KALAWAO COUNTY $12.37

The Stats Don’t Lie

In no state can a person working full-time at minimum wage afford a one-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent.

Every year since 1989 Out of Reach has shown the gap between wages and rents across the country and the gap continues to grow as the cost of housing increases more quickly than earnings. A renter earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would need to work 85 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom rent at the Fair Market Rent and 102 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom Fair Market Rent.

How We Can Solve the Crisis  -- Ensure significant funding for the National Housing Trust Fund!

The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) will provide communities with funds to build, preserve, and rehabilitate rental homes that are affordable for extremely and very low income households. NLIHC continues to work to ensure that the NHTF receives enough funding through dedicated revenue sources to address the urgent housing needs of millions of Americans. Find out more at www.nhtf.org. It is also critical to preserve and improve the nation’s public housing stock, expand the number of housing vouchers, and increase funding for other programs providing affordable housing to truly end this crisis.

read ... NLIHC Report