The Good Citizen, December
Thursday, November 30, 2006
High Rents Challenge Homeless
- The average rent plus utilities for a two-bedroom apartment in King County is $996. A worker must earn $19.17 per hour to afford this housing. (Housing is considered affordable when it costs 30 percent of one's income).
- Fewer than one percent of apartments in King County are affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of median income ($23,350 for a family of four).
- A worker earning minimum wage ($7.16 per hour) would need to work 80 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent of $729.
- Nowhere in the United States is the federal minimum wage enough to afford market rent for a two-bedroom apartment.
- Half of homeless adults have incomes of less than $300 per month.
Source: The Committee to End Homelessness in King County.