The distance between what work pays and what shelter costs. Move through the widening space.
$24.90housing wage / hour
$7.25federal minimum / hour
move through the gap
The Gap
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. The National Low Income Housing Coalition's housing wage, the amount needed to afford a modest two bedroom at fair market rent without spending more than 30% of income, is $24.90 an hour. There is no state where a full time minimum wage worker can afford a two bedroom.
The lower line is what work pays. The upper line is what shelter costs. The space between them is where the people in these figures fall: rent burdened, filed against, unsheltered. Move through the gap to read them.