Reports

Housing is Out of Reach

In 2025, a full-time worker needs to earn an hourly wage of $33.63 to afford the average modest, two-bedroom rental home in the U.S. and $28.17 to afford a modest one-bedroom rental home. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 falls far short of either wage. Even after factoring in higher state and local minimum wages, the average minimum-wage worker in the U.S. must work 116 hours per week (2.9 full-time jobs) to afford a two-bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, or 97 hours per week (2.4 full-time jobs) to afford a one-bedroom rental home at the Fair Market Rent. In no state, metropolitan area, or county in the U.S. can a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage, or the prevailing state or local minimum wage afford a modest two-bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 

The affordability crisis affects more than just minimum wage earners. The average hourly wage earned by renters is $23.60 in 2025, which is $10.03 less than the national two-bedroom Housing Wage and $4.57 less than the one-bedroom Housing Wage. In 49 states, the average renter wage is not enough to afford a two-bedroom rental at Fair Market Rent. In 37 states, it falls short of affording even a one-bedroom rental. Even workers in the nation’s most common occupations struggle to afford housing. Of the 25 most common jobs in the U.S., 17 pay median wages that fall below the Housing Wage for a one-bedroom rental and 18 pay below the two-bedroom Housing Wage. These 18 occupations employ approximately 74 million people—48% of the entire U.S. workforce.