This Map Makes It Pretty Clear Why We Need to Raise the Minimum Wage
A pretty standard way of measuring housing affordability used by economic experts is that you should pay about 30% of your income on rent. That leaves you with enough income to cover other important costs such as food, clothing, medical care, etc. But a new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition shows that in 2015, the minimum wage isn't enough to cover the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in any state in the union. Seems like we need a raise, right?
The report, summarized in the map above, shows how many hours an employee would have to work in that state, on average, in order to be able to afford a one-bedroom place that would cost 30% of their income. In only 13 states and Puerto Rico, can you afford that apartment on less than 60 hours a week, with the lowest number of hours being in Puerto Rico (48) and South Dakota (49). At the other end of the spectrum, you'd need to work at least 100 hours in Washington, D.C., Maryland or New Jersey to afford that one-bedroom apartment on the minimum wage.
Read the full report to learn more.
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This was reposted from the AFL-CIO.
