Breaking: Rent Still Too Damn High

A new report analyzing wages and rent nationwide found that there isn't a single county in the U.S. where someone earning minimum wage can afford a one-bedroom apartment. And that goes double for NYC, where even people making, say, $17.46 an hour (the mean wage of renters in the Bronx) can pretty much forget about living alone. If you earn that much per hour, you'll have to work 50 hours a week, 52 weeks a year to afford rent on a studio with a "fair market rent" of $1,129. ("Affordability" is defined as paying no more than than 30% of income for housing costs.)

And if you make minimum wage of $7.25 you better put on some coffee: You'll need to work 120 hours a week to pay the rent on a studio in the Bronx. Dean Baker, co-director of The Center for Economic and Policy Research, notes that it will take years before the county regains the 8 million jobs lost since before the crash. He tells City Limits, "If we know people are having difficulty affording rent now, what is it going to look like in 2011, 2012, 2013? It's not likely to look better. We'll see more trouble. We are not going in the right direction."

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By John Del Signore in News on April 22, 2010 5:26 PM

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NEW YORK FIEND

There will be new dynamics in urban social relations that develop from all of this. Unfortunately, dual-income for a single bedroom/one bathroom is crucial, if you wish to live modestly. Single life in the city, unless you're earning well, is brutal for your finances. Couples aside, you'll find friends, who aren't in any way related to one another, living together in one bedroom apartments. Nothing radical, but it will be more common.

unretrofiedforu

So what's the fix? Nothing right? Land of the rich huh.

Greenpoint60

So what's the fix?

I was sad the day the Berlin Wall came down!

HBHB

What kind of 1BR are we talking about. Do we mean the classic NYC 1BR that is a small hallway with a kitchen that's supposed to be the living room with a walk in closet at the bedroom? Cause I think you would have to work way more than 50 hours to afford a true traditional 1BR in NYC. Even in the hood.

NYbradES

Thank you rent control! By forcing some peoples rents lower... guess who makes up the difference? Us. Either way, you live in NYC, so who cares how crappy your apt is...

Greenpoint60

Thank you rent control!

Now you know why I am smiling.

Greenpoint60

I feel sorry for all those young hipsters that have to live in those filthy old rat infested lofts in Williamsburg. Twenty five years ago that whole area was a vast expanse of abandoned buildings with piles of trash in the streets.