Looking to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Waco? How about Killeen or Temple? You’re going to need to make at least $15.60 per hour in Waco and $15.17 per hour in Killeen-Temple to afford it, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The coalition’s Out of Reach 2017 report looked at the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing. The study defines affordability as spending no more than 30 percent of your gross income on rent.
Housing wages, or what a renter would need to earn hourly to afford housing, varied widely across Texas. While you need to make at least $19.83 per hour to afford a two-bedroom in Dallas, renters in Austin-Round Rock would have to make $22.98 per hour, Fort Worth- Arlington $18.71, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area renters $18.77, and San Antonio-New Braunfels $18.54, according to the report.
The average renter in Texas, who earns $17.89 per hour, could afford a rental that costs $930 per month, according to the report. However, the fair market rent is $770 per month for a one-bedroom and $956 per month for a two-bedroom.
A minimum wage worker who earns $7.25 an hour can afford $377 per month in rent. That person would need to work 82 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom at fair market rent.
Texas, which required at least am $18.38 per hour wage to afford a two-bedroom, had the 22nd highest housing wage in the nation, according to the report.
Hawaii had the highest housing wage at $35.20 per hour, and Arkansas had the lowest housing wage of 50 states at $13.72 per hour.