How Many Minimum Wage Hours Does It Take To Afford A Two-Bedroom Apartment (San Francisco: low income)

[ElectroPlumber]

Since there are a lot inquires about the relative cost of housing in Sacramento, this map is interesting to show the high proportion of income that goes to housing in CA. Certainly, most people who want to move here are not relying on minimum wage jobs, but there are a lot of questions about getting by on lower incomes.

How Many Minimum Wage Hours Does It Take To Afford A Two-Bedroom Apartment In Your State?

[NorCal Dude]

Problem is cost of housing in Sacramento is lower than the California state average. In fact, it is closer to the national average. There is so much lower income rental housing available in Sacto, in addition to section 8 that does not seem to be taken into account. I mean you can rent 2 bedroom trailers for a few hundred bucks a month. A week of fulltime minimum wage hours (40) should be enough to suppliment that.

[Lillp]

A couple interest facts that get left off of this figure.

The Fair Market value (FMV) is determined by HUD and includes utilities. Another fun fact, " HUD is required to ensure that FMRs exclude non-market rental housing in their computation. Therefore, HUD excludes all units falling below a specified rent level determined from public housing rents in HUD's program databases as likely to be either assisted housing or otherwise at a below-market rent, and units less than two years old." Yet HUD does not exclude the high end outlyers of rentals...
Fair Market Rents | HUD USER

This figure is so purposly misleading it's funny.

If we were to use the HUD numbers, the Sacramento FMV for a 2 bedroom is $1,021[SIZE=1][SIZE=1]
http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files...012-OOR-CA.pdf
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]So if you do want to hit the 30% goal and you want a 2 bedroom apartment, and you have two full time minimum wage workers, you need to find something right around $770. A quick craigslist search results in over 250 2-bedroom houses and apartments posted today alone. [/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[Mr. Ozo]

Let's presume two working adults for a two bedroom apartment both working 40 hours a week. That's 344 hours a month which equals $2752.

A quick scan of craigslist shows 2 bedrooms for around 700$. That's 25% of total income which is lot less than most people pay.

So that graphic doesn't really apply to Sacramento.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/apa/2969207110.html (broken link)
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/apa/2969053051.html (broken link)
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/apa/2962377735.html (broken link)

[ElectroPlumber]

Originally Posted by Lillp

A couple interest facts that get left off of this figure.

The Fair Market value (FMV) is determined by HUD and includes utilities. Another fun fact, " HUD is required to ensure that FMRs exclude non-market rental housing in their computation. Therefore, HUD excludes all units falling below a specified rent level determined from public housing rents in HUD's program databases as likely to be either assisted housing or otherwise at a below-market rent, and units less than two years old." Yet HUD does not exclude the high end outlyers of rentals...
Fair Market Rents | HUD USER

This figure is so purposly misleading it's funny.

If we were to use the HUD numbers, the Sacramento FMV for a 2 bedroom is $1,021[SIZE=1][SIZE=1]
http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files...012-OOR-CA.pdf
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]So if you do want to hit the 30% goal and you want a 2 bedroom apartment, and you have two full time minimum wage workers, you need to find something right around $770. A quick craigslist search results in over 250 2-bedroom houses and apartments posted today alone. [/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

However, if those same rules are being applied to rentals in all of the states, the map is still a good indicator of how CA compares to other states. No matter what they include or exclude in the value of the rentals if the same rules apply to Louisiana and California, it is obvious that CA is proportionately a lot more expensive in minimum wage hours to rent than Louisiana.

And that was the point of the map. Too many low income people move out here thinking that it will be the same situation that they had in Louisiana or West Virginia or wherever.

[Lillp]

Originally Posted by ElectroPlumber

However, if those same rules are being applied to rentals in all of the states, the map is still a good indicator of how CA compares to other states. No matter what they include or exclude in the value of the rentals if the same rules apply to Louisiana and California, it is obvious that CA is proportionately a lot more expensive in minimum wage hours to rent than Louisiana.

And that was the point of the map. Too many low income people move out here thinking that it will be the same situation that they had in Louisiana or West Virginia or wherever.

I agree that it can be a useful tool for those looking to relocate, and there is a reason California has a reputation for being unaffordable in general.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by ElectroPlumber

However, if those same rules are being applied to rentals in all of the states, the map is still a good indicator of how CA compares to other states. No matter what they include or exclude in the value of the rentals if the same rules apply to Louisiana and California, it is obvious that CA is proportionately a lot more expensive in minimum wage hours to rent than Louisiana.

And that was the point of the map. Too many low income people move out here thinking that it will be the same situation that they had in Louisiana or West Virginia or wherever.

Except people don't live in California the aggregate or Lousiana in the aggregate. Why delineate by state at all, just look at the national aggregate and be done with it. Even within a region it's not really that telling. San Francisco's average 2bd is $2,700 and Oakland's $1400. That's a pretty big difference. San Francisco Apartments for Rent - San Francisco, CA on MyNewPlace

Kids + minimum wage = welfare. So what you're talking about is single person or couple without kids. They don't need a 2bd apartment. A couple can split a studio and a single person can get roommates. This idea that single people are entitled to their own apartment at all let alone their own 2bd apartment in San Francisco perplexes me.

[ElectroPlumber]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Except people don't live in California the aggregate or Lousiana in the aggregate. Why delineate by state at all, just look at the national aggregate and be done with it. Even within a region it's not really that telling. San Francisco's average 2bd is $2,700 and Oakland's $1400. That's a pretty big difference. San Francisco Apartments for Rent - San Francisco, CA on MyNewPlace

Kids + minimum wage = welfare. So what you're talking about is single person or couple without kids. They don't need a 2bd apartment. A couple can split a studio and a single person can get roommates. This idea that single people are entitled to their own apartment at all let alone their own 2bd apartment in San Francisco perplexes me.

It's an overall comparison of states, not a comparison of cities or areas. As such it's a useful tool to compare STATES not CITIES or REGIONS.

Why would someone considering moving to CA want to base their decision on some kind of "National Aggregate"?