A week ago, NLIHC released its annual report, Out of Reach. Out of Reach 2014 provides extensive data on housing costs and wages for every state, county, and metropolitan area in the United States. Over the years, NLIHC has expanded and improved the Out of Reach report; however, the methodology remains the same. Here’s a review of some key definitions and figures used by Out of Reach:
AFFORDABILITY
What it means: The federally accepted standard of “affordable” housing is that which requires no more than 30% of the household income be spent on rent and utilities. Out of Reach uses this standard of affordability to determine the wages renters must earn to afford their local rent.
How to explain it:
Many Americans spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. For some, this may be considered a short-term situation. However, for millions of low income Americans, spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs means serious housing instability as these households often live paycheck to paycheck.
When a household has to spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, they are considered cost burdened. When a household has to spend more than 50% of their income on rent and utilities, they are considered severely cost burdened. Three out of every four extremely low income families are severely cost burdened, forcing them to make tough decisions on how to spend the little leftover income they have on food, transportation, medical costs, child care, and other important expenses.
FAIR MARKET RENT (FMR)
What it means: Simply put, Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are a standard measure of current housing costs across the country, using a consistent methodology. HUD estimates FMRs annually. They represent HUD’s best estimate of what a household seeking a modest rental unit in a short amount of time can expect to pay for rent and utilities in the current market. When calculating what incomes renters need to earn to afford rent, Out of Reach uses the Fair Market Rents.
HOUSING WAGE
What it means: How much must an individual earn hourly in order to afford a rental unit at FMR. The standard Housing Wage refers to a two-bedroom rental unit; however, Out of Reach also provides the Housing Wage for efficiencies up to 4-bedroom units in the state excel files. This figure is an average, available at the national level, state level, county level, and metropolitan area level.
How to use it: The 2014 two-bedroom national Housing Wage is $18.92. This figure varies considerably at state and local levels, so it is most effective to look up your county, metropolitan area, or state Housing Wage. You can compare this piece of data with what the average renter in that area actually earns, and what minimum wage workers earn.
While the Housing Wage can help your elected official understand the disparity between what renters in your community need to earn to afford rent and what they actually make, it is important to note that raising wages is an insufficient response to the problem. In every state, the Housing Wage is higher than the proposed raised federal minimum wage of $10.10. This disparity points to the extreme shortage of rental housing that is both affordable and available to low income renters. The strongest solution to the affordable housing crisis is an increased federal investment in affordable housing, which can be best achieved through the National Housing Trust Fund.
RENTER WAGE
What it means: How much does the average renter earn on an hourly basis. This wage is a mean calculation.
How to use it: Compare your state or local renter wage with your Housing Wage to demonstrate that the average renter cannot afford rent. It is important to note that because the renter wage is an average, many families face an even greater wage disparity.
HOURS AT MINIMUM WAGE NEEDED TO AFFORD RENT
What it means: This one is pretty self-explanatory, which is why it has become one of the most popular data points from Out of Reach. This analysis is most widely recognized in its map form, which provides how many hours a minimum wage worker must work every week to afford a two-bedroom rental unit at Fair Market Rent. The calculations use the prevailing minimum wage (whichever is higher between the federal or state minimum wage).
How to use it: This Out of Reach analysis has been used by many to argue for increasing the federal minimum wage. In every state, this figure is greater than 40 hours per week, even when using the prevailing state minimum wage. This reveals that nowhere in America, can a full-time minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom rental unit.
Learn more, and read the full Out of Reach 2014 report, at www.nlihc.org/oor/2014. Use the “View State Data” dropdown to access your state’s Out of Reach page. Click on the attached State Report (PDF) and State Data (Excel) to view and compare these and other data.
NEXT POST:
Barbara Stallone, Director of Policy and Public Relations for the Utah Housing Coalition, guest blog posts on how our state partner used Out of Reach data to advocate for an increased state minimum wage.
On the Home Front 