Here’s how much you need to make to rent an apartment in metro Phoenix
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — If you haven’t noticed, sky-high rental prices keep going up. So if you’re looking to move to the Valley or are new to the area, how much do you need to make to afford a modest apartment in Phoenix and the surrounding areas?
The National Low Income Housing Coalition just published a new report called “Out of Reach” that takes a close look at the high cost of housing around the country. Its mission is to document the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing.
The main statistic in the report is called the Housing Wage, which estimates the hourly wage a full-time worker would have to make to afford a rental home without spending more than 30% of income on housing costs. Here’s more on the methodology. The data is broken down by state and even further by metropolitan area.
Overall, Arizona ranks 18th for the highest housing wage. According to the report, someone needs to earn $23.44 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental. On the other hand, an Arizona resident who makes the minimum wage of $12.80 would have to work 73 hours per week to afford the same rental.
In the Valley, the report looks at an area encompassing Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale. Here are the Housing Wage highlights, as in how much a person needs to make to afford the following rentals:
| Number of bedrooms | Housing Wage (hourly) | Annual Income |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $19.33 | $40,200 |
| One-bedroom | $20.98 | $43,640 |
| Two-bedroom | $25.21 | $52,440 |
| Three-bedroom | $35.10 | $73,000 |
| Four-bedroom | $39.96 | $83,120 |
Fair Market Rent: An estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay per month:
- Studio: $1,005
- One-bedroom: $1,091
- Two-bedroom: $1,311
- Three-bedroom: $1,825
- Four-bedroom: $2,078
Check out the full report here. For info specific to Arizona, tap or click here.
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