An employee making minimum wage cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in ANY city in America.

The lack of affordable housing is considered a key contributing factor ¹³ to homelessness. A New Yorker earning minimum wage would need to work 111 hours per week ²⁶ to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment—that’s like working close to 3 full-time jobs at once. But it’s not just New York: in 2022, a typical employee earning minimum wage needed to work nearly two full-time jobs at once to afford a one-bedroom rental in any city in America ²⁷.

Rising rents don’t just prevent people from finding a home—evictions can cause homelessness without warning, forcing families to live in their cars or sleep in homeless shelters. A recent study ¹⁷ found that a median rent hike of just $100 correlates with a 9% increase in homelessness.

What Can Help?

More affordable housing, eviction prevention, renters rights education, and access to legal services