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Connecticut Workers Getting Priced Out of the Rental Market

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On average in the state, a minimum wage worker would need to work 106 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The average worker in Connecticut cannot afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment, according to a new study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A renter must earn $24.29 an hour to afford a two-bedroom in Connecticut according to the NLIHC’s Out of Reach report.

But here’s the problem: the average renter’s wage in Connecticut is $16.16 an hour, and if you are a minimum wage worker, you would need to work 106 hours a week to afford that same apartment.

This disparity between income and rent plays out in every state in the U.S., but Connecticut has the eighth-highest gap in the nation according to the study.

“It’s a real problem,” said David Fink, Policy Director for the Partnership for Strong Communities. “When they spend too much on housing they don’t have much left over for food, clothing, transportation, healthcare, all the other things that they need, so it’s not only bad for them individually, it’s bad for the whole state’s economy.”

Fink cited low wages, expensive housing costs, and a glut of single family homes on the market as reasons why this disparity exists. He credited state leaders for being pro-active and creating more affordable housing units, but said those units should not be concentrated solely in Connecticut’s bigger cities.

Fink said that if nearby towns zoned for high density housing, it would benefit both the renter and the town.

“Those towns tend to have good schools, so we would have children going to better schools, their parents would have access to more and better jobs, it brings young people to the town and they’ll spend their money there, and it’s also good for the town’s grant list, the total value of real property,” said Fink.

The report lists the Stamford area as having the highest wage to rent disparity in the state, where a worker has to earn $37.37 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Interactive graphic by Charlie Smart for WNPR.

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