Group matches income with affordable rent

How much does a Florida renter need to make to afford a twobedroom rental? The numbers may surprise you. A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition highlights how much a person needs to earn to afford rent in each state without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing.

In the Sunshine State, a resident needs to make $21.50 an hour working full-time or $44,716 a year to afford a fair-market, two-bedroom rental of about $1,118 a month.

In South Florida, no surprise, higher salaries are needed for those kinds of units.

In the Miami area which includes Miami Beach and Kendall, the report found that people need to bring home $25.98 an hour or an annual salary of $54,040 to pay for a two-bedroom unit that goes for $1,351 a month.

Renters in Fort Lauderdale need to make $26.67 an hour or a salary of $55,480 for a two-bedroom of about $1,387 a month. In the West Palm Beach and Boca Raton metro area, a household has to earn $27.35 an hour or or $56,880 for a unit that’s $1,422 a month. And in the Keys or Monroe County, a resident needs to make $29.12 an hour.

The most expensive state for a two bedroom unit? That’s Hawaii, where a household needs to make $36.13 an hour or $75,158 a year for a unit that’s $1,879. The most affordable state for a two-bedroom is Arkansas, where a renter has to make $13.84 an hour or $28,794 a year for a unit that’s $720 a month.