A TWO-BEDROOM NOW TAKES $34.73 AN HOUR, HOUSING GROUP SAYS
The National Low Income Housing Coalition said in its 2026 Out of Reach report, released July 23, 2026, that a full-time worker needs to earn $34.73 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental in the U.S., while the average renter makes just $24.84. The group calls that figure the Housing Wage, which is the hourly pay needed to afford a modest rental at HUD Fair Market Rent without spending more than 30% of income on housing.
That 30% mark is what NLIHC calls the most widely accepted standard of affordability. Fair Market Rent is the government’s estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental in a given area.
The report, titled “The High Cost of Housing,” put the one-bedroom Housing Wage at $29.19. The average renter wage falls $9.89 short of the two-bedroom figure and $4.35 short of the one-bedroom figure. Average monthly Fair Market Rents were $1,518 for a one-bedroom and $1,806 for a two-bedroom.
The jobs that fall short
In 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the average renter’s wage did not cover a two-bedroom at Fair Market Rent, NLIHC said. In 36 states, it did not cover even a one-bedroom.
Everyday jobs showed the same gap. Of the 25 most common occupations in the country, 17 had median wages below the one-bedroom Housing Wage and 18 were below the two-bedroom Housing Wage. NLIHC said those 18 occupations employ about 74 million people, or 48% of the workforce.
The numbers get starker further down the income ladder. NLIHC said a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 can afford only $377 a month in rent. A person with a disability who relies on federal Supplemental Security Income can afford $298. In most areas, a family of four at the poverty line can afford no more than $825, and many can afford less.
NLIHC noted that many low-income renter households include seniors, people with disabilities, students or single-adult caregivers. Because of their circumstances, it said, they often cannot work or must rely on fixed incomes or low-wage and minimum-wage jobs.
What NLIHC wants Congress to do
The group argued that the current administration’s policies have undermined housing stability. It pointed to staff reductions at HUD, rolled-back fair housing regulations and a fiscal year 2027 budget request that it said would reduce the number of households receiving assistance and restrict new voucher issuance.
NLIHC asked Congress to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing by growing the national Housing Trust Fund and investing in public-housing capital repairs. It also called for rental assistance for every eligible household in need, which it said could be achieved by fully funding the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Its third ask was reform. That means changing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to drive deeper investments, streamlining existing programs and building more accessible housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
On July 27, 2026, NLIHC published a map resource showing how much the two-bedroom Housing Wage varies by place. It ran from $11.57 in Puerto Rico to $52.79 in California.
The state pages show what that looks like on the ground. In Nevada, where the minimum wage was $12, NLIHC’s Nevada page was updated on October 15, 2026. It said a worker earning that minimum wage would need to work 93 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom at Fair Market Rent.
That same day, NLIHC also published a research update on the report’s findings. It said at least 60% of wage earners cannot afford a modest two-bedroom rental while working full-time, and that more than half cannot afford a one-bedroom.
NLIHC said tenants and housing stakeholders described housing providers as overwhelmed and struggling to meet demand. The message it summarized from them was that “a job no longer guarantees housing stability” and that “tenants are making impossible choices between paying for rent and other essentials.”
