View of Honolulu from the Aloha Tower, Oahu Island, Hawaii, USA. (Getty Images)
Finding affordable housing for the majority of Americans is becoming increasingly stressful and difficult due to the scarcity of quality homes nationwide and the stagnant hourly wages.
A new report sheds light on the struggles many endure to find a good place to live while trying to earn a competitive wage.
Related: This is how much money you need to make an hour to afford rent in New York City
In 2022, the national housing wage was $25.82 an hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $21.25 an hour for a modest one-bedroom rent, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a housing advocate. Collection.
The NLIHC released its “Out of Time” 2022 report, an in-depth study that looks at the number of hours an individual must work to buy a one- or two-bedroom rental apartment in their state – the “housing wage.”
Related: This is how much money you need to make an hour to afford rent in California
According to Out of Reach, In any state, metropolitan area, or county, a full-time minimum wage worker cannot afford a modest two-bedroom rental home, and such workers cannot afford modest one-bedroom apartments in 91% of US counties.
Countries and territories are ranked from the most expensive to the least expensive to study. The most expensive countries are:
- Hawaii
- California
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Washington DC
- Washington State
- New Jersey
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Connecticut
a map: The collapse of one country
Hawaii
The minimum wage in Hawaii is $10.00 an hour and the median rental wage for housing is $20.59. To rent a two-bedroom home in the state, a person must earn $40.63 per hour.
To put this in perspective, a person would have to work four full-time jobs at minimum wage, working 161 hours a week to buy a two-bedroom apartment in the state.
Related: Study shows how many hours you need to work to afford rent in Georgia
California
The report reveals that Californians are among those suffering the worst. According to the report, the average California citizen needs to earn $39.01 an hour and work full time to purchase a two-bedroom apartment.
The California minimum wage is currently $15 an hour for most employees and $14 in companies with 25 or fewer employees.
“In two states of California alone, there is a shortage of more than 960,000 affordable rental homes available for low-income families in the state. Nationwide, there is a shortage of 7 million of these rental homes,” Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat and President, said. The US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee in a statement. Meanwhile, on any given night in America, more than 580,000 people are homeless, including over 161,000 Californians, many of whom are people of color.”
Related: This is how much money you need to earn and how many hours you need to work to afford rent in Arizona
Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, the minimum wage is $14.25 an hour, and to afford a two-bedroom apartment, an individual needs $37.97 an hour.
The report found that renting a two-bedroom apartment in the state would require an individual to work 2.7 full-time jobs, 107 hours per week.
Related: This is how much money you need to make per hour to pay rent in Illinois
Washington State
According to the report, the fair market price for a two-bedroom rental in Washington state is $1,629. To avoid this level of rent and utilities without paying more than 30% of income on housing, the household must earn $5,430 per month ($65,161 annually).
This means that the average Washington citizen would need to earn $31.33 an hour (working full time) to buy a two-bedroom apartment.
The minimum wage in Washington is $14.49 with some municipalities like Seattle paying higher. The report ranks the top five areas in the state and how much you need to earn to buy a one-bedroom.
Related: Here are the 10 most expensive US cities for renters in 2022
Washington DC
The minimum wage in DC is $16.10 an hour, which means a tenant must work 1.9 full-time jobs to earn a one-bedroom apartment. The average rental price is $36.68. To rent a two-bedroom apartment, the tenant would need to earn $34.33 an hour which means you would have to work 2.1 full-time jobs to earn the cost of a two-bedroom apartment, according to the report.
Related: This is how much money you need to make an hour to afford rent in Washington
New York
The study found that earning the New York state minimum wage of $13.20 per hour would require someone to work 114 hours a week to afford two-bedroom rent or 99 hours per week to afford one-bedroom rent.
According to the report, the average citizen in New York City needs to earn an hourly wage of $45 and work full time to purchase a two-bedroom apartment.
New Jersey
The minimum wage in New Jersey is $13 an hour and the median renter wage is $23.39 an hour. If you want to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the state, the tenant will need to earn $31. 32 hours. An individual would have to work 2.4 full-time jobs averaging 96 hours per week to obtain a two-bedroom residence.
Related: The study found that Florida residents need to work many hours per week to provide a place to live
Colorado
The median minimum wage in Colorado is $12.56 an hour with the average renter making $23.55 an hour. According to the report, the average hourly wage required to rent a two-bedroom apartment is $28.94. This means that a person would need to work 2.3 jobs to get a two-bedroom place in the state.
Connecticut
Connecticut’s minimum wage is $14 an hour with the median renter wage at $21.30. For a two-bedroom apartment in the state, an individual would have to make $27.80 an hour. This means that you will have to work two full-time jobs at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
Related: This is how much money you need to make per hour to afford rent in Michigan
Maryland
The average minimum wage in Maryland is $12.50 an hour and the median renter wage is $21.52. If you’re looking to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the state, you’ll need to make $28.93 an hour. This means that you will have 2.3 full-time jobs and 93 hours per week.
Michigan
The Out of Reach report from the National Coalition on Low-Income Housing revealed that Michigan residents fall in the middle in terms of the cost of paying rent.
According to the report, on average, renters need to earn $19.10 an hour and work full time to purchase a two-bedroom apartment. That goes up to 77 hours a week at the minimum wage to afford the rent. For a one bedroom, the median average is $15.22 and you’ll have to work 62 hours.
However, the minimum wage in the state is $9.87, which makes a reasonable rental cost $513 a month.
It’s more expensive in suburban Detroit where you have to make over $30 an hour to afford the rent.
Related: This is how much money you need to collect rent in Minnesota: Study
Minnesota
According to the report, Minnesota residents are among the top 25 among those who suffer the worst when it comes to securing affordable housing.
The average Minnesota citizen needs to earn an hourly wage of $22.41 and work full time to purchase a two-bedroom apartment. In Minnesota, the Fair Market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,165. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of income on housing, the family must earn $3,885 per month or $46,616 per year.
Data for most of the Twin Cities shows that workers will need an hourly wage of $25.56. In the Rochester area, workers will need to make less than the state average, at $21.04.
Georgia
According to the report, Georgia residents need to earn at least $20.97 per hour to be able to purchase a two-bedroom home. This is an increase of $1.55 per hour over last year’s accounts.
Working at the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, this means they would need to work at least 2.9 full-time jobs and work 116 hours a week — or more than 16 hours a day.
Florida
In Florida, a resident needs to make at least $26.38 an hour to be able to purchase a two-bedroom home, according to the report. This number is an increase of $1.56 per hour from last year’s report.
With the state’s minimum wage of $10 an hour, that means they need to work at least 2.6 full-time jobs. The increase from the 2021 report is testimony to the well-documented rise in rental prices in the state and beyond.
Arizona
Arizona residents earning minimum wages would need to work 73 hours a week, or roughly two full-time jobs, in order to afford two-bedroom rent. The current minimum wage in Arizona is $12.80.
The average Arizonan needs an hourly wage of $23.44 to purchase a two-bedroom apartment. This is an increase of $1.14 over last year. To rent a one bedroom, you’ll need to earn at least $19.13.
Illinois
According to the report, the average Illinois citizen needs to earn an hourly wage of $22.80 and work full time to purchase a two-bedroom apartment.
There are over a dozen counties in Illinois that are the cheapest and where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. According to the report, the minimum wage in those counties is $14.13.
FOX 5 Atlanta, FOX 13 Tampa, FOX 5 New York, FOX 13 Seattle, FOX 32 Chicago, FOX 2 Detroit, FOX 9 Minneapolis, FOX 10 Phoenix and FOX 11 Los Angeles contributed to this story. This story was reported from Washington, DC