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How Much Do You Need to Make to Afford DC's Rent?
Two new studies show just how difficult it is to afford the rent in DC, especially on a modest income.
Trulia looked at rental markets from the perspective of a recent graduate, comparing the median income for that group with the median rent in major cities. A more robust study from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) looked at how much a family would need to make to keep rental costs at 30 percent of income and afford rent and utilities at a unit renting at “Fair Market Rent,“ defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fair market rents refer to modest accommodations.
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Topping the list of unaffordability in both studies was San Francisco, where a graduate would need to make $137,272 a year to afford the median rent of $3,500 a month. A household would have to earn about $40 an hour to afford the fair market rent of $2,062 a month for a two-bedroom in San Francisco.
And there’s no state in the country where a person earning the state or federal minimum wage can afford a one-bedroom apartment, the NLIHC study found.
In both studies, DC ranked as one of the most unaffordable places to live. The Trulia study found the median wage for recent grads, $37,120, wasn’t nearly enough to afford the median rent of $1,975. To afford that grads would need to be making $77,461 a year.
And to afford a two-bedroom at fair market rent in DC — $1,458 a month for a two-bedroom — a household would need to be making $28.04/hour.
See other articles related to: minimum wage, rent affordability, trulia
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/how_much_do_you_need_to_make_to_afford_dcs_rent/9909.
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