Minimum wage would need to double in order to afford 1-bedroom rental in Valley
May 2, 2014, 5:00 AM | Updated: 5:00 am
PHOENIX — The minimum wage in Arizona would have to double in order for one person to afford a modest one-bedroom in the Valley.
Using data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Washington Post assembled a chart detailing how high the minimum wage would need to be — in every county in every state — in order for one person to live in a one-bedroom rental.
The current minimum wage for the entire state of Arizona is $7.90. According to the data, that amount would literally have to double to $14.88 in order for someone to reasonably afford just a single bedroom. Pinal County would also need to be the same amount, but Coconino County, in northern Arizona, would need to increase to $15.69.
The data does not go so far, however, as to account for those who “(find) housing by renting a room in someone else’s home, (live) in the cheapest part of town or (work) considerably more than 40 hours a week.”
Not surprisingly, the data indicates that coastal and urban cities are among the most expensive.
The entire Boston-New York-Washington corridor includes little respite from high housing wages. Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties in California rank as the least affordable in the country.
To be more specific, to afford single-bedroom housing in each of those counties, one would need to make $29.83 per hour, work 3.7 full-time jobs at the actual minimum wage or make a salary of $62,000.
Looking for more affordable housing? Thirty counties in Arkansas tied for the least expensive housing wage at $7.98 an hour.
For an interactive version, click here.