Rents Are Out of Reach for Minimum-Wage Workers Toiling 40 Hours a Week

Affordable housing is harder to find as rents rise and wages stay stagnant, a new study shows.

In California, workers would have to earn $39.01 hourly to afford a two-bedroom home, according to a report by advocacy group National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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Affordable housing is becoming more and more precarious as rents keep climbing at a record pace, and wages for many Americans aren’t keeping up with inflation.

The average worker on a 40-hour week would need to earn $21.25 an hour to afford a one-bedroom home in the US, and $25.82 to afford a two-bedroom home, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an advocacy group. In every state in the US, the cost to rent a home exceeds their minimum wage.