This year’s Out of Reach report, released today from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, shows that an Oregonian must earn $21.26 to afford an average two bedroom apartment, and still have money left over for other necessities like food, medicine, and transportation costs. In the three county Portland-metro area, the hourly wage needed to afford that same average two-bedroom apartment is $25.58.
We know all Oregonians need a safe, stable and affordable place to call home. As rents rise, families, seniors, people with disabilities, and individuals must make choices between paying rent and putting food on the table. In communities across Oregon, people are struggling to pay the rent, and we have a huge shortage of safe, stable, and affordable housing.
In Hood River, the wage needed to afford an average one bedroom apartment is $17.33 per hour. A minimum wage earner in Hood River would need to work 64 hours a week just to afford rent for a one bedroom apartment, and have money left over for food and medicine.
In the Portland metro area, a minimum wage earner must work two, full time jobs to afford the average one bedroom apartment, and still have money left over for food and medicine.
You can download the Out of Reach report here, and check out the Housing Wage in your community.