The National Low Income Housing Coalition released its annual Out of Reach report for 2018 on June 13. The report documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing. The report uses the Housing Wage – the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30% of his or her income on housing costs. This is based on HUD’s Fair Market Rent – an estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modest rental home in the area. NLIHC releases reports at the national, state, county and metropolitan area level.

So how out of reach is housing in California, and more specifically, the five counties represented by SCANPH? Let’s see.

California Wages
$11.00 – Minimum Wage
$21.50 – Average Renter Wage
$32.68 – Housing Wage for a 2-Bedroom

California Renters
5,878,380 -> Total Number of Renter Households
46% -> Percentage of Californians who rent

•    We rank 3rd in the 50 states in having the largest shortfall between average renter wage and two-bedroom housing wage•    To afford a modest 2-br apartment in California you need to make $32.68/hour •   &… — •   We rank 3rd in the 50 states in having the largest shortfall between average renter wage and two-bedroom housing wage
•   To afford a modest 2-br apartment in California you need to make $32.68/hour
•   A minimum wage worker in California must work 93 hours a week to afford a 1-br apartment

Los Angeles County
• To afford a modest 2-br apartment in LA County, you need to make $31.98/hour

Orange County
• To afford a modest 2-br apartment in Orange County you need to make $36.08/hour

Riverside County
• To afford a modest 2-br apartment in Riverside County you need to make $22.23/hour #OOR18

San Bernadino County
• To afford a modest 2-br apartment in San Bernadino County you need to make $22.23/hour

Ventura County
• To afford a modest 2-br apartment in Ventura County you need to make $33.44/hour #OOR18

Out of Reach Report 2018