Overview
- The 2026 Out of Reach report calculates a national housing wage of $34.73 an hour for a modest two‑bedroom and finds the average renter earns $24.84 an hour, leaving a large nationwide shortfall.
- The report defines a housing wage as the hourly pay needed to afford a rental at HUD’s Fair Market Rent without spending more than 30% of income on rent and utilities.
- In Maine the two‑bedroom housing wage is $32.32 an hour with a two‑bedroom fair market rent of $1,681, while Maine renters earn an average $18.29 and a $15.10 minimum‑wage worker would need about 86 hours of work per week to afford that unit.
- Florida’s two‑bedroom housing wage is $37.93 an hour with a two‑bedroom fair market rent of $1,973, the state’s minimum wage is $14 and the report estimates minimum‑wage workers would need roughly 91 hours per week to afford a one‑bedroom; Monroe County and the Miami metro require housing wages above $46 an hour.
- The report’s state and metro breakdowns show wide geographic gaps that advocates say point to the need for expanded rental assistance, higher wages, and more deeply affordable housing to prevent eviction and homelessness.