sick little jag

Report: U.S. Rentals Unaffordable to Poor

By GENARO C. ARMAS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Most Americans who rely on just a full-time job earning the federal minimum wage cannot afford the rent and utilities on a one- or two-bedroom apartment, an advocacy group on low-income housing reported Monday.

For a two-bedroom rental alone, the typical worker must earn at least $15.37 an hour - nearly three times the federal minimum wage, the National Low Income Housing Coalition said in its annual ``Out of Reach'' report.

That figure assumes that a family spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on rent and utilities - anything more is generally considered unaffordable by the government.

Yet many poor Americans are paying more than they can afford because wage increases haven't kept up with increases in rent and utilities, said Danilo Pelletiere, the coalition's research director.


The median hourly wage in the United States is about $14, and more than one-quarter of the population earns less than $10 an hour, the report said.


``A lot of people continue to be squeezed out,'' said Judy Levey, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky. ``Housing here is relatively inexpensive, but because the wages are so low, people can't afford housing,''


The report quoted federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data that showed hourly wages rising about 2.6 percent over the past year, slower than the 2.9 percent rise in rents recorded in the Consumer Price Index.


In addition, Pelletiere said, government spending on Section 8 rental vouchers, which helps 2 million Americans - mainly poor - pay rent hasn't kept up with demand.


The study analyzed data from the Census Bureau and the Housing and Urban Development Department to derive the hourly wage figures.


In only four of the nation's 3,066 counties could a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage afford a typical one-bedroom apartment, the coalition said. Three were in Illinois: Clay, Crawford and Wayne counties; the other was Washington County, Fla.


California topped all states in the hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment, at $21.24, followed by Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and New York.


States with more residents in rural areas were generally the most affordable, although no state's housing wage was lower than the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, which has not changed since 1997.


West Virginia was the lowest at $9.31 an hour for a two-bedroom rental, followed by North Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.


Pelletiere said the coalition's data for 2004 could not be compared with previous years because of changes in the way that HUD calculated ``Fair Market Rents,'' which is the cost of rent and most utilities for a typical apartment. The fair rent varies widely by metropolitan area.


Overall, though, utility costs appear to be rising at a faster rate than rents, Pelletiere said. Add in stagnant wages and the housing situation for the nation's poor ``has gotten worse over the last year,'' he said.

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I think it's really sad and unfortunate that the cost of living for people making minimum wage is so unaffordable. I'm wanting to live on my own on a minimum wage job, and even with money saved up, I'd still need a room-mate to afford it. I think it's crap that the government does not do something. They need to either a) raise the federal minimum wage to make living affordable, or b) do something to curtail the cost of rising utility costs.

Something needs to be done, though. The amount of poverty our country has, especially since we don't consider ourselves to be a third world country, is astounding....and a little bit embarrasing.

Lorna

I agree, it’s ridiculous than in the richest countries in the world, there are still people who cannot afford their own home. Something does need to be done about it, I don’t know whether it’s increasing the minimum wage, or decreasing housing prices, but something needs to change.

There is a very similar situation over here as well. I live about 30 miles outside London with good connections to the Underground system -- it takes about 40 minutes to get to the centre of London. Therefore, the house prices are ridiculous!

I earn an ok salary, not fantastically brilliant, but on my own, I should be able to live on it. Well, if I lived anywhere else in the country, I would be able to! The smallest, cheapest studio flat you can rent, is £700 per month, which is more than my monthly salary! And you just can’t buy anything for under £150,000!

I do live in one of the most expensive areas in Britain, but I am sure it is similar in other areas. It’s ridiculous! No one can afford the housing unless you earn about £30,000 per year!

*Ledi*

Isn't it sad that this doesn't surprise me.. at all?

Tiffers

I think in boston where I live we are #8 in Massachusetts as far as how expensive it is to rent here. Massachusetts is known for its high taxes anyways and for those that don't live here, you would be shocked at how much it costs to buy a house here

*Jo*

I live in one of the more affordable areas of Britain, I've spent seven years either in university or professional training and I can't afford to buy in the area I've grown up in and wish I could escape from. It's not one of the better areas of my city, to say the least. It's pathetic that even with a fair amount saved a third of my earnings couldn't get me a decent flat somewhere I'd feel reasonably safe living on my own.