July 20, 2018 | by Michael Wilt
Categories: Affordable Housing, Rental Housing
Earlier this year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition released its annual "Out of Reach" report which tracks what a household must earn to afford a modest, two-bedroom fair market rate apartment. The report calls this figure a "Housing Wage."
The national average fair market rent in 2018 is $1,149 for a two-bedroom apartment. To afford that rent and not be cost burdened (defined as spending less than 30% of income on housing costs), a household must work full-time earning at least $22.10/hour. This is the national Housing Wage.
Texas renters fare a little better. With an average two-bedroom rent of $1,005, the state's Housing Wage is $19.32/hour which equates to $3,349 monthly or $40,185 annually.
We previously documented the rise in Texas' Housing Wage in 2015 and 2017 On the House posts. Unfortunately, the Housing Wage continues to climb -- from $16.62 in 2015 to $19.32 in 2018. This is a reflection of the rising cost of housing, as fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Texas increased from $864 to $1,005 during that same period.
More worrisome is that the average renter wage isn't keeping pace with the Housing Wage. Between 2015 and 2018, the average renter wage increased $1.58 while the Housing Wage increased $2.70.
If you're curious about wages and housing costs in your area, we invite you to take a closer look at the Texas section of the report. You can see a snapshot of the entire state or look at data specific to a metropolitan area or county.
Here are some other key findings from the report for Texas and nationwide:
Texas
Nationwide
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If renters have school age children then finding a affordable apartment in a safe neighborhood with quality schooling is out. Rental Cost should include water, mud tax, mandatory valet trash pick up, & garbage fee because Apts. controls the fee for these services: therefore, a $1,005 apt true price w/o rental ins. or electric is at least $1,100.