Grim New Report Shows Rent Is Unaffordable In Every State – And It's Getting Worse

IF you read the article and the report, it is not as grim or as big of a mess as implied.
From the first paragraph - "There’s not a single state, metropolitan area or county in the U.S. where a full-time worker earning the minimum wage can afford the rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment."
And then the article perpetuates a lie - "The report takes the “fair market rent” of modest one- and two-bedroom rentals..." The report explicitly states - "Hourly wage required to afford a two bedroom rental home by state."

There are problems, but the article is very misleading and the report is not much better.
It is interesting that the article and the up-front portion of the report focuses on a national average instead of local averages. Example: "A full-time worker needs to earn $22.96 an hour, on average, for a two-bedroom rental to be affordable, according to the report. That’s $15.71 an hour more than the federal minimum wage, and $5.39 more than the national average renter’s wage of $17.57."
So how much is the average rent in San Francisco or New York? It is even more interesting that the median wage earners are not able to afford the same property. I will use NYC as an example.
"According to U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the median individual income in New York City is $50,825. The median household income in New York City is $57,782. Household income in the U.S. Census data takes into account the income of everyone who lives inside a single housing unit. This includes anyone from individuals, groups of roommates and families. Note that this figure represents the gross amount, before taxes and other deductions." That is $24.44 - $27.78 an hour average. What is the 'lowest cost' wage per hour of said accommodations in the central part of NYC at Zip 10002 (Lower East Side)? $31.15
What it goes to show is that people are more than willing to spend more on housing than the government allotted 30%.
Another example - a house in Wichita, Kansas that sells for $97,000 can go for $1,500,000 in Healdsburg, California; or 15x the cost.

Yeah, I could def see that....