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James Layfield

ASP, CNE
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Texas Premier Realty
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Rent Becoming Out of Reach for Most Families

June 2nd, 2016



For most Americans working on minimum wage, the outlook on rent is becoming gloomy. The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently conducted a study that revealed there are no states where a minimum-wage worker on 40 hours a week can afford a 1 bedroom rental. In fact, the study showed the amount of wage needed to rent a 2 bedroom place  is $20.30/hour!

To give you an idea of how out of whack that number is, the average hourly pay nationally is $15.42/hour. The federal minimum wage, at around $7.25/hour, is only a 3rd of what is needed to afford a average 2 bedroom rental. That means minimum-wage workers have to work 3 jobs or 112 hours a week!

This means a lot of a tenants income goes to pay the rent, making it difficult to save  money for a down payment to buy a home. The prices of rental is different from state to state, so the National Low Income Housing Coalition created this map indicating the minimum wage required to rent an average 2 bedroom in each state.

 


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Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Houston Association of REALTORS®

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