Report: Wage needed to rent in Ohio has doubled in past five years
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- According to a recent report, the cost of rent in Ohio has more than doubled in the last five years alone.
A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio found full time workers must earn at least $22.51 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Ohio. That is nearly $4 higher than the average Ohio renter makes, the study said. See previous coverage of Columbus' attempts to address affordable housing in the video player above.
The coalitions said that is a sharp increase from 2020, where the gap between income and rent affordability was $1.57 per hour. The gap is now $3.89 per hour, and the report said that adds up quickly. A minimum wage worker in Ohio would need to work 67 hours per week to afford a modest one bedroom rental.
The two coalitions examined the disparities using the Housing Wage, an estimate of how much workers must make per hour to afford fair market rent. Fair market rent costs no more than 30% of one's income.
That necessary wage is even higher in Columbus, where the report found renters must earn at least $27.79 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. If residents want to live downtown, they need an average hourly wage above $40.
“The cost of rent is squeezing working Ohioans like never before. Rent now consumes so much of the income that people need just to survive,” Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio Executive Director Amy Riegel said. “That’s why we’re seeing more and more seniors wind up in the homeless system.”
Riegel said the housing market is difficult for seniors for many reasons. Many are being taxed out of their homes, and many home health aides cannot afford to live near their clients. Riegel said they found the median home health aide wage in Ohio is at $14.75 and hour -- less than any Housing Wage in the state.
“Every year the housing market keeps pushing people closer and closer to the breaking point," she said.