The 10 Least Affordable States For Renting May Surprise You

By PATRICK LUCE (Patch Staff)

While the economy has improved and the unemployment rate has dropped in most states across the country, many people are still struggling to pay the bills, especially when it comes to rental housing, a National Low Income Housing Coalition study shows.

The problem is that while jobs have increased, wages have not, forcing roughly 21 million working Americans to scrape by on a near minimum wage salary, according to the Pew Research Center. At the same time, rents keep rising because the demand for rental units has increased across the country as the home ownership rate has dropped to its lowest point since 1989.

The result is that people are being priced out of the rental market.

Most economists advise renters to pay no more than 30 percent of their annual income on housing. Anything more is unaffordable.

Nationally, the average worker needs to make $19.35 an hour to afford the rent on an average two-bedroom home, about $4 an hour more than the average renter’s income of $15.16.

So where is this gap the worst? The coalition broke down the numbers by state, and some of the results may surprise you.

Here are the 10 worst states nationally for wages needed to rent a two-bedroom vs. actual average renter income:

1. Hawaii—$17.12 per hour difference
2. Maryland—$8.93 per hour difference
3. Vermont—$8.90 per hour difference
4. New Jersey—$8.24 per hour difference
5. Connecticut—$8.12 per hour difference
6. California—$7.96 per hour difference
7. New Hampshire—$6.60 per hour difference
8. Massachusetts—$6.44 per hour difference
9. Maine—$6.32 per hour difference
10. Rhode island—$6.01 per hour difference

Check out the full report here.