Floridians need to make $24.43 an hour to afford rent on a 2-bedroom residence, report shows
National Low Income Housing Coalition
TAMPA, Fla. - A report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition says Florida is the 12th most expensive state for renters.
In Florida, the Fair Market Rent (FMR), which includes rent and basic utilities, for a two-bedroom apartment or rental property is $1,270 -- $24 more than the national average. For a one-bedroom, it’s $1,027.
Financial experts typically recommend a person or household should spend 30% or less of their income on housing. If you consider a 40-hour workweek, 52 weeks a year, a household in Florida needs to earn $24.43 an hour, $4,234 monthly, or $50,807 annually to afford a two-bedroom rental.
For a single person who wants to rent a one-bedroom, they need to make $19.75 an hour, $3,160 monthly, or $41,080 annually.
However, the average hourly wage for Floridians who rent their residence is $17.28. Florida’s minimum wage is $8.56.
To afford a one-bedroom rental on Florida’s minimum wage, (receiving time-and-a-half for overtime above 40 hours), a single person would need to work 76 hours a week to make $41,080 a year, which allows them to spend $1,027 per month for rent and utilities.
According to the report, 35% of Florida households, 2,667,159, are renters.
In the Bay Area, the hourly wage needed to rent a two-bedroom residence ranges from $14.06 in Hardee County to $23.46 in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas counties’ housing wage is $23.19. Polk County’s wage is $17.60. Citrus and Highlands counties are $16.42 and $16.29, respectively. And DeSoto County’s housing wage is $14.58.
The Florida county that does not include a major metro area with the highest housing wage is Monroe County, at $33.23 an hour.
The most expensive metro areas are Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, and Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island.
Read the full report at https://reports.nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_BOOK_2020.pdf.