Looking to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Seattle? You’re going to need to make at least $29.21 per hour to afford it, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The coalition’s Out of Reach 2017 report looked at the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing.
Housing wages, or what a renter would need to earn hourly to afford housing, varied across Western Washington. Renters in the Tacoma area would need to earn $21.96 per hour to afford a two-bedroom, Olympia-Tumwater renters $20.60, Bellingham renters $18.62, Bremerton-Silverdale renters $19.98, and Mount Vernon-Anacortes renters $18.42, according to the report
Without spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent, the average renter, who earns $17.77 per hour, could afford a rental that cost $924 per month, according to the report. However, fair market rent is $982 per month for a one-bedroom and $1,229 for a two-bedroom.
A minimum wage worker who earns $11 an hour and could afford $572 per month in rent would need to work 69 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom at fair market rent.
Washington state, which required at least a $23.64 per hour wage to afford a two-bedroom, had the 10th highest housing wage in the nation, according to the report.
Hawaii had the highest housing wage at $35.20 per hour, and Arkansas had the lowest housing wage of the 50 states at $13.72 per hour.
