BURLINGTON, VT – In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, renters need to earn $22.40 an hour, or $46,585 annually. This is Vermont’s 2018 Housing Wage, revealed in a national report released today. The report, Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a research and advocacy organization dedicated solely to achieving affordable and decent homes for the lowest income people, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC).
Every year, Out of Reach reports on the Housing Wage, the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest, safe rental home without spending more than 30% of his or her income on housing costs. The report covers all states, counties, metropolitan areas, and ZIP codes in the country, highlighting the gap between what renters earn and what it costs to afford rent at fair market value.
The average renter in Vermont earns $12.85 an hour, which is $9.55 less than the hourly wage needed to afford a safe, decent place to live. They can afford just $668 a month for their housing costs, while the average statewide Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,165 a month and $928 a month for a one-bedroom. With over 75,000 renter households, Vermont has the 5th largest affordability gap for renters of any state in the nation.
CLICK HERE to read the full new release and see additional Vermont data.