Wages Can’T Pay The Rent Study Shows How Many Hours At Minimum Wage People Must Work

Employees earning minimum wage over a 40-hour week cannot afford what the federal government considers a “modest” two-bedroom apartment in the Inland Northwest and across the country, a study released Wednesday said.

Spokane County residents who earn minimum wage would need to work 62 hours each week to earn enough for what the federal government considers the fair market price of a modest two-bedroom apartment: $527 per month.

Federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo said the report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an advocacy group that favors raising the minimum wage, demonstrates the flip side of the booming economy.

“Rents continue to increase dramatically, while the minimum wage has not,” he said.

The study used the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of “fair market rent” to determine the hourly wage needed to pay for an average apartment in each state, county and metropolitan area.

The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. Washington’s minimum wage is $6.50 and is slated to rise to $6.71 Jan. 1.

HUD says people should not spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing. Using that standard, no minimum-wage earner working a 40-hour week can afford an average rent in any county, the coalition said.

In Kootenai County, fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $551 per month, and the minimum wage is $5.15. That means an employee would have to work 82 hours at minimum wage to afford rent, the study said.

New Jersey was ranked the leastaffordable state, with workers having to earn $16.88 per hour to pay for an apartment. Washington was the 14th leastaffordable state ($12.62), while Idaho was ranked the 11th most-affordable state ($9.25).

Excluding the self-employed, the average U.S. worker earns $16.17 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although some states, including Washington and California ($5.75) have higher state minimum wages, they still fall short of covering an average rent, said the report, titled “Out of Reach.”

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said last month he supports boosting the minimum wage by $1 over two years. Clinton favors an increase in the minimum wage but is concerned about GOP attempts to tie it to tax cuts.

Cuomo and affordable housing advocates are using the report to push for an increase in the minimum wage and more funding for Section 8 rental assistance vouchers.

The wages needed to pay for housing increased in 98 percent of the 3,646 local jurisdictions studied from 1999 to 2000. The average increase was 3 percent.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FROM THE STUDY Numbers crunching The basic premise:

HUD says people should not spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing. What it means around Spokane:

Minimum wage: $6.50 an hour (scheduled to reach $6.71 Jan. 1.) Fair-market rent for a modest twobedroom apartment: $527 per month.

Hours per week worked to afford the apartment: 62. What it means around CdA:

Minimum wage: $5.15 an hour.

Fair-market rent: $551 a month.

Hours per week to afford it: 82. On the Web:

National Low Income Housing Coalition: www.nlihc.org Department of Housing and Urban Development: www.hud.gov/