How much you would need to afford rent in Colorado?

⚠️ Important Market Update: The Douglas County real estate market has shifted significantly since this article was published. Whether you are looking to hold builders accountable on new construction or find hidden equity in a high-ROI cosmetic flip, you need current data.

To get today's strategies and work with the best Realtor in Highlands Ranch, please visit my new official digital hub: Living in Highlands Ranch.

There is nowhere in this country where someone working a full-time minimum wage job could afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment. Downsizing to a one-bedroom will only get you so far on minimum wage. Such housing is affordable in only 12 counties located in Arizona, Oregon and Washington states, according to the report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

You would have to earn $17.14 an hour, on average, to be able to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment without having to spend more than 30 percent of your income on housing, a common budgeting standard. Make that $21.21 for a two-bedroom home -- nearly three times the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
The minimum hourly wage required to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment, of course, depends on where you live -- ranging from a low of $11.46 in some counties in Georgia to a high of $58.04 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The most expensive state for housing is Hawaii, where workers would need to make $35.20 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. They would need to make $33.58 in the District of Columbia, $30.92 in California, $28.27 in Maryland, and $28.08 in New York.

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