Even with a $10 hourly minimum wage increase, a minimum-wage earner could only comfortably afford a one-bedroom apartment in five of the 50 largest metros: Buffalo, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Hartford.
ST. LOUIS, Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — None of the 50 largest U.S. cities offer one-bedroom rentals that meet the standard affordability threshold of 30% of a person’s gross income for minimum-wage earners, according to new research from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.
With a monthly income of roughly $1,257 before taxes on the federal minimum wage of $7.25, an “affordable” rent payment on a one-bedroom would be $377 for a single renter or $754 for a pair of renters.
Couples or roommates both earning minimum wage would only find one-bedroom units affordable on their combined income in nine of the 50 largest metros:
- Buffalo, New York
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Denver, Colorado
In 15 cities, it would take three or more minimum-wage incomes to afford a one-bedroom rental — including four or more minimum-wage incomes needed in seven cities. Only Buffalo and St. Louis offer two-bedroom units affordable for two minimum-wage earners.
In seven cities, even studio apartments exceed minimum wage earnings, while 19 cities have minimum wages at least $20 below what a single worker needs to afford a one-bedroom apartment.
Buffalo offers the most affordable rent ratio, but the fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment ($1,001) still requires 39% of a full-time minimum wage income ($2,600 monthly).
Meanwhile, Atlanta is the most expensive, with a one-bedroom unit consuming 132% of the monthly income for minimum-wage earners.
Only three cities have one-bedroom rentals that require less than half of the area’s minimum wage income: Buffalo (39%), St. Louis (46%), and Hartford (49%).
Notably, the 24 most affordable cities for one-bedroom apartments all have a local minimum wage above the federal rate, while the 11 least affordable adhere to the federal minimum of $7.25, unchanged since 2009.
To keep the same purchasing power amid 15 years of inflation, the federal minimum wage would need to be increased to $10.59 per hour. Yet, just 28 of the 50 largest U.S. cities currently exceed this.
Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/rent-to-income-ratio-2024
About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate is a technology company that produces educational real estate content reaching over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 3,000+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $11.4 billion in real estate sold, matched 138,000+ customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $170 million on commission fees. Clever’s network spans 15,000 agents across all 50 states.
Please contact Alyssa Evans at
385049@email4pr.com
with any questions or to arrange an interview.
CONTACT:
Alyssa Evans
Clever Real Estate
385049@email4pr.com
315-690-1518
SOURCE Clever Real Estate
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