How Much Do You Have to Make to Afford an Apartment in CT?

If you've lived at the lower end of the economic scale in Connecticut for a while, we don't need to tell you how expensive it can be to reside in the state. So we're going to turn to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) to share the bad news.

For many renters in the state, it is unaffordable to live in a two-bedroom apartment, and in fact, Connecticut is the eighth most-unaffordable state in the country, according to a new report by the group.

"In Connecticut, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,285," writes the NLIHC in its report entitled 'Out of Reach 2016: No Refuge for Low Income Renters.' "In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing — a household must earn $4,285 monthly or $51,420 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into an hourly Housing Wage of $24.72."

The minimum wage in Connecticut is $9.60, according to the report, which means a person would need to work just over two-and-a-half full-time jobs (2.6 full-time jobs, or more than 100 hours per week) to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Heck, even a one-bedroom apartment in the state costs about $1,000 per month on average, according to David Cadden, professor emeritus in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University. So, even those apartments would be difficult to afford.

“One-bedroom apartments in Connecticut average over $1,000 a month, which is more than twice the income for a person making minimum-wage,” said Cadden in a statement. “The high cost of housing in Connecticut drives many in a family to hold multiple jobs or have as many people in the family work as possible. This isn't necessarily the most effective solution for individual employers. It becomes difficult to think in terms of an equitable solution to this problem, but more affordable low-income housing might reduce this difficulty.”

Not a surprise, but the area of the state requiring the highest average housing wage is in the Stamford-Norwalk region of Fairfield County. A resident would need to make $37.15 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment, followed closely by Danbury at $34.13 per hour.

As the state grapples with its budget, and competes with other states for businesses, this wage discrepancy is potentially hurting Connecticut with employers, according to Cadden.

“One of the key assets for a successful business is its employees,” he added. “You have to be able to attract employees who will be able to conscientiously perform the job. This is true even at the lower end of the labor spectrum. The current national drive to raise the minimum-wage to as much as $15 an hour reflects the inability of many workers to be able to survive on the income from one job.”

Click here to view the full report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Map image via the National Low Income Housing Coalition