Nearly Half of American Workers Don't Earn Enough To Afford A One-Bedroom Rental

[appalachiablue]

The Guardian, Aug. 12, 2021. - Ed.

Nearly half of American workers do not earn enough to rent a one-bedroom apartment, according to new data. Rents in the US continued to increase through the pandemic, and a worker now needs to earn about $20.40 an hour to afford a modest one-bedroom rental. The median wage in the US is about $21 an hour.

The data, from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, shows that millions of Americans – from Amazon warehouse workers to cab drivers to public school teachers – are struggling to pay rent. For the poorest Americans, market-rate housing is out of reach in virtually all of the country.

About 14% of Americans fell behind on rent payments during the pandemic – roughly double the figure before the pandemic. A federal moratorium on evictions has kept renters from being kicked out of their homes, but the moratorium lapsed last month, only to be extended into early October for those in regions hardest hit by the pandemic.

And it’s not just big cities skewing the data. A 2-bedroom rental – a reasonable size for a family – would stretch the budgets of renters in most US counties: (Map/Graphic at link). The federal government has long used 30% of income as a threshold for affordable rent. For affluent households, this still leaves plenty of money for essential purchases, but research has found that low-income families begin to cut back on necessities when housing costs exceed the 30% threshold...

More,
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/12/housing-renter-affordable-data-map

[Wingus Dingus]

1. My son's rent--one bedroom, not super nice apartment--

cheapest one he could find within commuting distance to where he works in Boulder CO--pretty much consumes half his pay, so we still pay for his car insurance and pay for his phone on our plan. I don't know what he'll do when his older high mileage car gives out. I watch the housing prices and rent in Colorado keep escalating, I don't get how people are affording to live here unless they bought a house years ago like we did. Even the cheaper areas (which is where I live) are getting upwards of 400,000-500,000. It's bonkers.

[appalachiablue]

2. And no signs of slowing down, or pay rising..

Important to know, thanks for sharing and I hope things improve somehow for your son.

Rising rents and housing costs- the road to serfdom as plenty remark esp. with a smaller number of corporations buying up properties here since the 2008 Financial Crash.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. We've seen the same in western Montana due do people escaping from elsewhere

due to COVID, wildfires and who knows what rumors. Rents and Housing prices make no damn sense at all. I suspect it's driven by as much by property speculators around this area buying up houses and turning them into rentals as it is actual homeowners. either way out-of-town money is driving the rise here. Despite the change in the overall economy local incomes haven't risen to meet prices or rents in this GQP owned state.

[Doc Sportello]

4. Then throw in those of us who are retired

And trying to make it on a pension and/or SS. Even if you can afford a place the quality of life is reduced because so much of your income is going to rent, not to mention medications and medical bills.