What Do You Have to Make Per Hour to Afford Rent in Texas?
What is the minimum you now have to make per hour to afford the rent on a two-bedroom apartment in Texas?
In the midst of an affordable housing crisis, its becoming increasingly difficult for people to afford the rent on a family-sized apartment. As reported by Yahoo, a recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition breaks down the amount you had to make per hour in 2017 to afford a two-bedroom apartment from state-to-state. And with on-going federal plans to increase rent on low-income housing, these numbers are likely to go up. For the purposes of this report, "affordability" is defined as no more than 30% of someone's total income.
Texas is near the middle of the national pack, coming in just under the national average of $21.21 with a minimum hourly wage of $18.38. Overall, the list ranges from as low as $9.63 per hour in Puerto Rico to as high as $35.20 per hour in Hawaii. For two-income families, some of these wages aren't too far fetched. But for single parents, a lot of these wages seem like pipe dreams, especially with the current federal minimum wage and the Texas minimum wage at only $7.25 per hour.
The complete state-to-state breakdown, from highest to lowest minimum hourly wage:
State | Hourly Wage |
Hawaii | $35.20 |
Washington D.C. | $33.58 |
California | $30.92 |
Maryland | $28.27 |
New York | $28.08 |
Massachusetts | $27.39 |
New Jersey | $27.31 |
Connecticut | $24.72 |
Alaska | $24.16 |
Washington | $23.84 |
Virginia | $23.29 |
Colorado | $21.97 |
Vermont | $21.90 |
New Hampshire | $21.71 |
Delaware | $21.62 |
Illinois | $20.87 |
Florida | $20.68 |
Oregon | $19.78 |
Rhode Island | $19.49 |
Pennsylvania | $18.68 |
Minnesota | $18.60 |
Texas | $18.38 |
Maine | $18.05 |
Nevada | $18.01 |
Arizona | $17.56 |
Utah | $17.02 |
Georgia | $16.79 |
North Dakota | $16.36 |
Michigan | $16.24 |
Louisiana | $16.16 |
Wisconsin | $16.11 |
South Carolina | $15.83 |
North Carolina | $15.79 |
New Mexico | $15.78 |
Missouri | $15.67 |
Wyoming | $15.62 |
Kansas | $15.59 |
Tennessee | $15.34 |
Nebraska | $15.22 |
Indiana | $15.17 |
Ohio | $15.00 |
Montana | $14.90 |
Mississippi | $14.84 |
Alabama | $14.78 |
Oklahoma | $14.78 |
Idaho | $14.65 |
Iowa | $14.57 |
West Virginia | $14.49 |
South Dakota | $14.12 |
Kentucky | $13.95 |
Arkansas | $13.72 |
Puerto Rico | $9.68 |