50 States + DC + Puerto Rico ranked by minimum hourly wage required to afford 2-bedroom housing

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Jenn...let me look that up. I assumed this county was average but I'll check.

You could very well be right, I just find it surprising is all.

Ok. From http://www.bls.gov/ro2/qcew9320.htm: I found average weekly wages in the 3rd quarter of 2006, broken down by county (for NJ).

I took the liberty of dividing weekly wages by 40 to come up with an hourly wage rate. This, of course, assumes a 40 hour workweek (i.e. no OT).

Out of 15 counties, 8 counties have an average wage of above $22.25 (2-bedroom wage as described in the original article). The lowest is Ocean county at $16/hour.

[Jenn! 918]

Jenn...let me look that up. I assumed this county was average but I'll check.

You could very well be right, I just find it surprising is all.

Ok. From http://www.bls.gov/ro2/qcew9320.htm: I found average weekly wages in the 3rd quarter of 2006, broken down by county (for NJ).

I took the liberty of dividing weekly wages by 40 to come up with an hourly wage rate. This, of course, assumes a 40 hour workweek (i.e. no OT).

Out of 15 counties, 8 counties have an average wage of above $22.25 (2-bedroom wage as described in the original article). The lowest is Ocean county at $16/hour.

Well I guess people are generally better off than I thought then. The required wage as indicated above here in MA would be almost 48K annually. I think it would be pretty hard to find a remotely decent 2BR around here at that salary. Maybe if you go out into the boonies.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

[DeadPoolX 9]

The problem I see with something like this is it's only figuring in the minimum wage necessary for a two-bedroom apartment. It fails to look at the overall quality of the apartment and where it's located. Both of those can dramatically raise or lower the cost.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

Yeah but - no one wants to rent their entire life and pay someone else's mortgage, housing affordability needs to include being able to buy

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

Yeah but - no one wants to rent their entire life and pay someone else's mortgage, housing affordability needs to include being able to buy

Yes, but owning is a "nice to have". Being able to have a place to live at all is a necessity.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

Yeah but - no one wants to rent their entire life and pay someone else's mortgage, housing affordability needs to include being able to buy

Yes, but owning is a "nice to have". Being able to have a place to live at all is a necessity.

How does one pay rent when they're retired? Social security isn't necessarily going to cover it!

Edited April 15, 2008 by rkl57

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

Yeah but - no one wants to rent their entire life and pay someone else's mortgage, housing affordability needs to include being able to buy

Yes, but owning is a "nice to have". Being able to have a place to live at all is a necessity.

How does one pay rent when they're retired? Social security isn't necessarily going to cover it!

They can move to Kansas where it will.

[almaty 19]

I assume this is renting and not buying - there is no way someone on $50k or thereabouts could afford a 2 bed where I live without a huge deposit

Yes, renting. The question is whether housing is affordable, not whether buying a home is affordable.

Yeah but - no one wants to rent their entire life and pay someone else's mortgage, housing affordability needs to include being able to buy

Yes, but owning is a "nice to have". Being able to have a place to live at all is a necessity.

How does one pay rent when they're retired? Social security isn't necessarily going to cover it!

They can move to Kansas where it will.

lol..kansas..they die in droves..you for genocide of the aged brother arijit?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

lol..kansas..they die in droves..you for genocide of the aged brother arijit?

I was telling my wife yesterday when she was talking about the efforts the school is making to help some kid who is suicidal.....some people need to be allowed to die.... living ain't for everyone

Edited April 15, 2008 by VJ Troll

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base. Minimum based on what? In terms of job growth in the last decade, how many new jobs created were minimum wage jobs (what percentage)? Our economy has been turned into a house of cards.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

[AtlantiCat 0]

The problem here is that these numbers are averaging an entire state into one number. It needs to take into account the fact that large urban population centers are going to require a higher wage than a rural town in the same state. I live in Chicago, but if I drive out to a little town downstate in the middle of the cornfields 20 miles away from the nearest expressway, I'll be able to buy three times as big a house for the same amount of money as it would cost in or near Chicago.

Flawed statistics.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Agreed, it would be much more meaningful if broken down by county.