New Teachers Spend Nearly Half Their Income on Rent

The typical rent is unaffordable for entry-level teachers in 49 of the 50 largest U.S. metros

- The median market rate rent payment would take 46.8% of a typical starting teacher's salary, 35.6% of a mid-career teacher's salary and 26.6% of the highest-paid teacher's salary.

- Pittsburgh is the only large U.S. metro where market rate rent prices are affordable for entry-level teachers.

- Mortgage payments are relatively more affordable, taking 26.6% of a typical starting teacher's salary - assuming a 20% down payment.

News provided by

Zillow

Aug 27, 2019, 09:30 ET

SEATTLE, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Entry-level teachersⁱ will need to spend more than half of their salaries on the typical rent in 19 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas this school year, according to a new Zillow® analysis.

Nationally, it would take 46.8% of a typical starting teacher's salary to pay the median rent. This improves to 35.6% for a mid-career teacherⁱⁱ – still above the generally accepted 30% threshold for housing costs to be considered affordable – and 26.6% for the highest-paid teachersⁱⁱⁱ.

Starting teachers literally cannot afford the typical home or rental in San Francisco or San Jose – median payments are greater than 100% of a starting teacher's salary in both metros. Finding a roommate or moving back in with parents may be the only option for these teachers – a previous analysis from HotPads®, a Zillow Group-owned apartment search platform, found that San Francisco renters can save more than $1,000 a month by living with roommates.

But it is not only the most expensive markets where teachers are cost burdened. New teachers spend greater than half of their income on market rate rent in some broadly affordable metros like Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Raleigh.

Of the 50 largest metro areas, only Pittsburgh offers affordable rent for starting teachers. And even the highest-paid teachers would find the typical rental affordable in just over half of large metros.

"Most acknowledge that building more homes is required to address the root cause of eroding housing affordability. Without that new influx to take the pressure off rent and aggressive home value growth, it's the public servants, like teachers, fire fighters, and nurses – the professions that keep us safe, our kids smart, and our families healthy – that often feel the pinch most," said Skylar Olsen, Zillow's director of economic research. "So don't think of housing affordability policies as a choice between change and the status quo. Crowded, job-rich communities will change — and it will be either the buildings that change or the mix of people who can afford to live in them."

Teachers who own a home are in a better position, due in part to the benefit of low mortgage interest rates and decades-long terms that lock in payments even as home prices rise. Starting-level teachers pay 26.6% of their income for the typical mortgage payment nationally and spend less than 30% of their income in 31 of the 50 largest metros. The highest-paid teachers can afford mortgages in all but the four most-expensive metros in California. An additional chunk will come out of households' income for property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and common homeowner maintenance, but even after those expenses, ownership is still more affordable in many markets. All of this presumes, though, that they have managed to put 20% down.

Metropolitan Area	Median Rent	Starting Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Rent	Median Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Rent	Highest- Paid Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Rent	Starting Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Mortgage	Median Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Mortgage	Highest-Paid Teacher – Share of Salary on Median Mortgage
United States	$1,483	46.8%	35.6%	26.6%	26.6%	20.2%	15.1%
New York, NY	$2,407	52.5%	39.8%	30.4%	35.8%	27.2%	20.7%
Los Angeles, CA	$2,836	85.1%	52.2%	39.6%	72.2%	44.3%	33.6%
Chicago, IL	$1,713	46.7%	34.3%	25.7%	22.7%	16.7%	12.5%
Dallas, TX	$1,661	47.5%	38.3%	35.0%	25.7%	20.8%	18.9%
Philadelphia, PA	$1,614	39.1%	29.8%	23.3%	20.9%	15.9%	12.4%
Houston, TX	$1,588	44.1%	36.6%	32.9%	21.2%	17.6%	15.8%
Washington, DC	$2,185	54.6%	43.7%	32.8%	37.7%	30.2%	22.6%
Miami, FL	$1,938	72.1%	51.7%	41.5%	38.9%	27.9%	22.4%
Atlanta, GA	$1,475	44.3%	35.4%	28.1%	24.4%	19.5%	15.5%
Boston, MA	$2,433	67.9%	45.6%	36.5%	48.0%	32.3%	25.8%
San Francisco, CA	$3,466	104.0%	67.1%	48.9%	104.8%	67.6%	49.3%
Detroit, MI	$1,233	33.7%	24.3%	19.2%	16.5%	11.9%	9.4%
Riverside, CA	$2,017	60.5%	34.6%	26.9%	41.2%	23.6%	18.3%
Phoenix, AZ	$1,480	48.0%	42.3%	35.5%	32.1%	28.3%	23.8%
Seattle, WA	$2,259	74.7%	47.6%	35.7%	59.9%	38.2%	28.6%
Minneapolis, MN	$1,711	51.3%	36.0%	27.4%	30.2%	21.2%	16.1%
San Diego, CA	$2,673	97.2%	50.1%	37.7%	79.5%	41.0%	30.9%
Saint Louis, MO	$1,169	38.4%	28.1%	21.9%	20.4%	14.9%	11.6%
Tampa, FL	$1,465	47.5%	41.8%	33.8%	25.9%	22.8%	18.4%
Baltimore, MD	$1,748	43.7%	35.0%	27.6%	24.8%	19.8%	15.6%
Denver, CO	$2,142	73.4%	52.5%	39.5%	51.8%	37.0%	27.9%
Pittsburgh, PA	$1,108	29.5%	22.9%	15.8%	14.2%	11.0%	7.6%
Portland, OR	$1,895	59.8%	42.9%	33.9%	46.2%	33.2%	26.2%
Charlotte, NC	$1,360	46.6%	37.1%	30.8%	26.7%	21.2%	17.6%
Sacramento, CA	$1,936	64.5%	38.7%	28.7%	50.8%	30.5%	22.6%
San Antonio, TX	$1,388	37.0%	31.4%	28.0%	19.3%	16.3%	14.6%
Orlando, FL	$1,554	50.4%	42.4%	37.3%	28.9%	24.3%	21.4%
Cincinnati, OH	$1,309	39.3%	30.2%	24.2%	18.9%	14.6%	11.7%
Cleveland, OH	$1,176	33.6%	23.5%	19.6%	15.5%	10.9%	9.0%
Kansas City, MO	$1,309	39.3%	32.7%	26.2%	21.3%	17.8%	14.2%
Las Vegas, NV	$1,435	43.1%	34.4%	26.9%	31.0%	24.8%	19.4%
Columbus, OH	$1,380	41.4%	27.6%	22.1%	21.5%	14.3%	11.5%
Indianapolis, IN	$1,244	41.2%	33.2%	24.9%	20.5%	16.5%	12.4%
San Jose, CA	$3,611	108.3%	61.9%	45.6%	129.0%	73.7%	54.3%
Austin, TX	$1,737	52.1%	44.3%	40.0%	34.7%	29.5%	26.6%
Virginia Beach, VA	$1,449	49.7%	37.0%	31.1%	29.2%	21.7%	18.2%
Nashville, TN	$1,536	52.7%	42.9%	34.8%	32.5%	26.4%	21.4%
Providence, RI	$1,687	38.9%	27.4%	25.1%	25.2%	17.7%	16.3%
Milwaukee, WI	$1,319	37.7%	30.4%	23.3%	24.6%	19.9%	15.2%
Jacksonville, FL	$1,426	45.0%	41.2%	35.7%	25.0%	22.9%	19.8%
Memphis, TN	$1,124	34.6%	30.0%	24.1%	16.1%	13.9%	11.2%
Oklahoma City, OK	$1,130	38.7%	34.8%	29.5%	18.8%	16.8%	14.3%
Louisville, KY	$1,199	36.0%	26.6%	21.2%	18.2%	13.5%	10.7%
Hartford, CT	$1,584	36.6%	27.2%	22.6%	19.6%	14.6%	12.1%
Richmond, VA	$1,435	39.1%	35.1%	31.3%	23.3%	21.0%	18.7%
New Orleans, LA	$1,401	42.0%	36.5%	31.5%	19.5%	17.0%	14.6%
Buffalo, NY	$1,208	32.2%	23.4%	19.3%	15.9%	11.5%	9.5%
Raleigh, NC	$1,486	50.9%	41.6%	34.3%	34.1%	27.8%	23.0%
Birmingham, AL	$1,114	31.8%	26.7%	23.9%	15.7%	13.2%	11.8%
Salt Lake City, UT	$1,620	57.2%	43.7%	34.6%	48.3%	36.9%	29.2%

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ⁱ Defined as being in the 25th percentile of teacher salaries for a given region.
ⁱⁱ Defined as having the median teacher salary for a given region.
ⁱⁱⁱ Defined as being in the 75th percentile of teacher salaries for a given region.

SOURCE Zillow