Housing is Out of Reach
Out of Reach documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing. The report’s Housing Wage is the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30% of his or her income on housing costs. It is based on HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR), which is an estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modest rental home in the area.
Millions of Americans struggle to find affordable rents.
In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom rental home in the U.S., renters need to earn a wage of $21.21 per hour. The Housing Wage for a two-bedroom apartment is $13.96 higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and $4.83 higher than the average hourly wage of $16.38 earned by renters nationwide.
Find Data for Your Locality
Use the interactive map on nlihc.org/oor to access state and local data. Various items are included with for each state.
Using Alabama as an example, you will find:
- Data
- Amount of hours you have to work at minimum wage to afford a modest 1-bedroom home at FMR
- Affordable Rent for Low Income Households at minimum wage, at 30% of area median income, at average renter wag
- Fair Market Rent for 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments
- Compare jurisdictions using drop down menus
- Connect to Network – Alabama
