New York and Connecticut among most expensive states for lower income renters

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.