The National Low Income Housing Coalition has released its annual Out of Reach report on housing affordability across the United States. This interactive web report allows you to find data on housing affordability as expressed in fair market rent. Data include: income needed to afford a studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom or four bedroom apartment; how many hours you would need to work on minimum wage to afford such housing; a ranking by housing wage (hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom apartment) by state, and county; and more. Data is available for comparison among states, counties and MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas). Some of the files are downloadable in spreadsheet format.
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Selected Findings:
- 52% of L.A. County residents are renters compared to 43% for California as a whole.
- An average renter in L.A. County would need to work 47 hours a week to afford a one bedroom apartment.
- Since 2000, fair market rents for a one bedroom apartment have gone up 62% in L.A. County and 44% in California.
- Hawaii is the most expensive state in terms of renting a two bedroom apartment. One would need to earn $29.02 an hour to afford such an apartment. California was the second most expensive, ($24.01 an hour is needed to afford a two bedroom apartment).
- Individuals in L.A. County who rely only on the $870 a month of SSI (Supplemental Security Income) would have to use up 99% of their SSI benefit in order to pay for a fair market rent studio ($863 a month).
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