In many major U.S. cities, minimum-wage workers have to work 50 or more hours a week just to pay the rent for a one-bedroom home. Metropolitan Area United Way Survey found.
In New York City, minimum wage workers have to work 111 hours to rent a one-bedroom.
United Way used data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition to calculate the number of hours minimum wage workers need to spend each week to pay rent in the 50 largest US cities.
Tucson, Arizona and Buffalo, New York are the only two cities on the list that allow minimum wage workers to work less than 50 hours a week.
It shows how many hours a minimum wage worker would have to work to pay the rent of a bedroom in the 10 largest US cities. minimum wage In each city:
new york city
required time: 111
minimum wage: $15
Los Angeles
required time: 84
minimum wage: $15.96
Chicago
required time: 112
minimum wage: $15.40
houston
required time: 104
minimum wage: $7.25
phoenix
required time: 65
minimum wage: $12.80
Philadelphia
required time: 110
minimum wage: $7.25
San Antonio, Texas
required time: 97
minimum wage: $7.25
San Diego
required time: 90
minimum wage: $15
Dallas
required time: 120
minimum wage: $7.25
San Jose, California
required time: 141
minimum wage: $16.20
Finding affordable housing was difficult for many even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
“By August 2020, 12 million families were at risk of losing their homes if the government didn’t take action,” NLIHC president and CEO Diane Yentel told CNBC Make It. . “Many people were already struggling to pay their rent when the pandemic brought sudden unemployment, shortened working hours and rising costs for health care, childcare and internet.”
A number of emergency measures were taken to mitigate the damage. housing crisis During the beginning of the pandemic. But as those temporary solutions have expired, the number of affordable rental housing available has not kept up with demand.
Price increases will affect renters of all incomes, but threaten the lowest income renters.
Diane Yentel
President of NLIHC