Housing Remains Unaffordable for Low-Wage Workers

The national housing wage is $25.82 for a modest two-bedroom rental at fair market rent, according to the NLIHC’s annual ‘Out of Reach’ report.

By Christine Serlin

Courtesy National Low Income Housing Coalition

The recent increases in rents are making it even harder for low-wage workers and low-income families to afford housing, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

In its “Out of Reach 2022: The High Cost of Housing” report, the NLIHC highlights the mismatch between actual wages and what people need to earn to afford their housing costs. The annual report finds again this year that there is no county, metro area, or state where a person earning the federal or prevailing state or local minimum wage for a 40-hour work week can afford a modest two-bedroom rental home. These workers can only afford modest one-bedroom apartments in 9% of U.S. counties—274 out of more than 3,000 nationwide.

As part of its signature report, the NLIHC calculates a “housing wage” that is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) fair market rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of their incomes.