Politics & Government
For Many South Shore Workers, Rent Is 'Out Of Reach': Report
A new report shows the wage needed to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment on the South Shore is higher than state and national averages.
BRAINTREE, MA — A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that rents for modest one- and two-bedroom apartments in most South Shore communities are above the state average.
The report, titled "Out Of Reach," ranks zip codes by the hourly wage a person would need to earn to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment without spending more than 30 percent of his or her income on housing.
Nationally, the hourly wage is $23.96. In Massachusetts, that wage was $35.52 per hour, the third highest in the nation. The report also said a minimum-wage worker in Massachusetts would need to work 111 hours per week to afford that same apartment.
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And on the South Shore, 20 of 24 communities had wages higher than the state average:
| City/Town | Hourly wage needed to afford 2-bedroom apartment | Hourly wage needed to afford 1-bedroom apartment |
| Braintree | $47.12 | $38.65 |
| Abington | $30.00 | $22.69 |
| Randolph | $43.46 | $35.77 |
| Cohasset | $47.31 | $38.85 |
| Duxbury | $59.42 | $48.85 |
| Hanover | $29.23 | $22.12 |
| Hanson | $39.04 | $32.12 |
| Hingham | $51.92 | $42.69 |
| Hull | $38.85 | $31.92 |
| Marshfield | $41.92 | $34.42 |
| Milton | $41.81 | $36.92 |
| Norwell | $41.92 | $34.42 |
| Pembroke | $49.04 | $40.38 |
| Plymouth | $41.73 | $34.23 |
| Quincy | $45.00 | $36.92 |
| Rockland | $38.08 | $31.35 |
| Scituate | $38.08 | $31.35 |
| Weymouth | $39.42 | $32.50 |
| Whitman | $28.65 | $21.73 |
| Holbrook | $38.08 | $31.35 |
| Plympton | $28.27 | $22.31 |
| Kingston | $41.35 | $34.04 |
| Carver | $40.19 | $33.08 |
| Halifax | $44.04 | $33.46 |
| State Average | $35.52 | N/A |
The Coalition set up an interactive, online map where you can enter zip codes to find more data on each community, as well as data for towns not listed above.
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