A new study concludes the price of housing is getting too high for an increasing number of Minnesotans. Researchers at the National Low Income Housing Coalition said a prime factor is that rental costs are increasing faster than wages for many workers.
A lot of people are struggling to pay for shelter, said Chip Halbach, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership.
"In Minnesota, there is no county where a worker earning under $8 an hour can find an affordable home," Halbach noted. "And so, your lower-wage workers - your bus drivers, your people who are sales clerks - are really stretched thin."
A minimum wage worker earning $5.15 an hour can afford a monthly rent of $286, and would have to put in 117 hours a week to pay for a two-bedroom place at what's considered "average market" rent, Halbach said. Housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent of a renter's income.
The new study, titled "Out of Reach," shows the state's low-wage workers are being priced out of the housing market, and that has economic and human consequences, Halbach added.
"If people can't afford homes, they're not going to be able to pay for other things that are critical to their life," he said. "They're not going to be able to pay for medical costs, or even food, in increasing numbers of cases. The housing cost is the major burden on most Minnesota families."
High housing costs hit working families, the elderly, and people with disabilities the hardest. The report puts the average market "housing wage" for a two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota at $15 an hour.
The study found that Minnesota and other Midwest states are in the middle in terms of housing costs. The top five states with the least affordable housing are California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and New York. Minnesota is 36th least affordable, Wisconsin 24th, Iowa 12th, South Dakota 8th, and North Dakota, among the most affordable, is 3rd. The study concludes the cost of rental housing is a burden, or too high, for one-third of the U.S. population.
For more information
The study, including a county-by-county breakdown, is available at www.nlihc.org
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A new study concludes the price of housing is getting too high for an increasing number of Minnesotans. Researchers at the National Low Income Housing Coalition said a prime factor is that rental costs are increasing faster than wages for many workers.
A lot of people are struggling to pay for shelter, said Chip Halbach, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership.
“In Minnesota, there is no county where a worker earning under $8 an hour can find an affordable home,” Halbach noted. “And so, your lower-wage workers – your bus drivers, your people who are sales clerks – are really stretched thin.”
A minimum wage worker earning $5.15 an hour can afford a monthly rent of $286, and would have to put in 117 hours a week to pay for a two-bedroom place at what’s considered “average market” rent, Halbach said. Housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent of a renter’s income.
The new study, titled “Out of Reach,” shows the state’s low-wage workers are being priced out of the housing market, and that has economic and human consequences, Halbach added.
“If people can’t afford homes, they’re not going to be able to pay for other things that are critical to their life,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to pay for medical costs, or even food, in increasing numbers of cases. The housing cost is the major burden on most Minnesota families.”
High housing costs hit working families, the elderly, and people with disabilities the hardest. The report puts the average market “housing wage” for a two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota at $15 an hour.
The study found that Minnesota and other Midwest states are in the middle in terms of housing costs. The top five states with the least affordable housing are California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and New York. Minnesota is 36th least affordable, Wisconsin 24th, Iowa 12th, South Dakota 8th, and North Dakota, among the most affordable, is 3rd. The study concludes the cost of rental housing is a burden, or too high, for one-third of the U.S. population.
For more information
The study, including a county-by-county breakdown, is available at www.nlihc.org