The most expensive state for housing is Hawaii, where workers would need to make $35.20 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. They would need to make $33.58 in the District of Columbia, $30.92 in California, $28.27 in Maryland, and $28.08 in New York.
Did I mention we’re trying to buy a home in Maryland? My wife and I make good money but we are still DC Poor. My wife and I make well above minimum wage, but many people in our fields do not.
In the District, where the hourly minimum wage is $12.50, a household — say a single parent — must earn $69,840 a year to be able to afford the fair market rent of $1,746 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.
Do you know people who work multiple jobs to pay for the roof over their heads?
Someone making the federal minimum wage would need to work 117 hours a week — or nearly three full-time jobs — to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
There are plenty of people in this area who are working hours like this. Going from job to job to job to afford to live in a house they never see. To support their children and their families and allow them to have a home. Affordable housing is vital to everything else. What would you do without a place to keep what you value safe? Without that peace of mind and basic level of security, you have nothing.
Source: Here’s how much you would need to afford rent in your state – The Washington Post
