Minimum Wage Workers Priced Out of One-Bedroom Apartments in Every Major U.S. City: 2024 Data

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Oct 22, 2024, 08:38 ET

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 [email protected] with any questions or to arrange an interview.

CONTACT:
Alyssa Evans
Clever Real Estate
[email protected]
315-690-1518

SOURCE Clever Real Estate