Arizona two bedroom homes not affordable for minimum wage workers
An average renter with a minimum-wage job in Arizona has to work 71 hours to be able to afford a two-bedroom home, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition ( NLIHC ).
The widely accepted standard of affordability for a household is that you should spend no more than 30 percent of income on housing. NLIHC said rent for a median two-bedroom home in Arizona should cost about $898. This makes two bedroom homes unaffordable for most full-time employees being paid minimum wage, which is $11 an hour.
“This report, coupled with the additional resources the state has designated for housing for 2020, makes it clear that housing stability is one of the greatest concerns for working families all across Arizona,” said Joan Serviss , executive director of the Arizona Housing Coalition, in a statement. “And that won’t happen if full-time jobs aren’t paying enough to cover rent.”
Nationwide, an employee working the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and 127 hours a week, has to work three full-time jobs to be able to afford a two-bedroom home.
On a previous NLICH report that was released earlier this year, Arizona was ranked as the third worst state for affordable housing. The report found that there were only 25 affordable and available rental units for every 100 extremely low-income rental households in Arizona.
