New York and Connecticut are among the most expensive states for lower income residents trying to obtain rental housing, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).
In presenting its data, the NLIHC based its finding on a “housing wage,” which it defined as “an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development”™s fair market rent without spending more than 30% of their incomes.” It also measured the fair market rents, which “are estimates of what a household moving today can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental home. The kind of home that can be rented for the fair market rent is in decent condition, but it is not luxury housing.”
NLIHC”™s 2023 national housing wage is $28.58 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental Home. In its data study, the NLIHC stated, “The average hourly wage earned by renters is just one cent more ($23.68) than the national one-bedroom housing wage ($23.67) but $4.90 less than the two-bedroom housing wage ($28.58). As a result, the average renter must work 48 hours per week to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment on their own. In 47 states, full-time workers earning the average hourly wage for renters in their state earn less than their state”™s two-bedroom housing wage.
New York, with a minimum wage of $14.20 per hour and $40.08 per hour state housing wage, ranked as the fourth most expensive state for rental housing. The NLIHC said the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in New York is $943 ”“ but to afford this level of rent and utilities without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $3,143 monthly or $37,715 annually. Westchester, the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metro area and the Kingston metro area were the third, fourth and fifth most expensive rental markets in the state.
Connecticut, with a minimum wage of $15 per hour and $31.93 per hour state housing wage, ranked as the ninth most expensive state for rental housing. The NLIHC said the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Connecticut is $1,660 ”“ but to afford this level of rent and utilities without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $5,534 monthly or $66,412 annually. The Stamford-Norwalk metro area, the Greater Danbury area and the Greater Bridgeport area ranked first, second and third as the state”™s most expensive rental markets.
