Posted on: Tuesday, September 9, 2003

Wage needed to cover apartment costs up sharply

Associated Press

The cost of rent and utilities for a typical two-bedroom apartment has increased more than a third since 1999, making such housing unaffordable for anyone earning minimum wage, according to a study by an advocacy group for low-income housing.

A worker must earn at least $15.21 an hour to afford the average cost of $791 per month and have enough left for food and other necessities, the Washington-based National Low Income Housing Coalition said yesterday. Five years ago the average cost for housing and utilities was $576.

The "housing wage" a worker had to earn per hour in Hawai'i in 2002 and 2003 to pay rent and utilities for a typical two-bedroom apartment at a level of no more than 30 percent of gross income on housing was $16.74 and $17.02, respectively.