Seriously, isn’t our housing affordable here in Madison? Take a look . . .
This is from the “Out of Reach” study the National Low Inccome Housing Coalition does every year. Check out the synopsis for Wisconsin:
Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $763. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $2,542 monthly or $30,505 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a Housing Wage of $14.67.
In Wisconsin, a minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.25. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 81 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, a household must include 2.0 minimum wage earner(s) working 40 hours per week year-round in order to make the two bedroom FMR affordable.
In Wisconsin, the estimated mean (average) wage for a renter is $11.97 an hour. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment at this wage, a renter must work 49 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, working 40 hours per week year-round, a household must include 1.2 worker(s) earning the mean renter wage in order to make the two-bedroom FMR affordable.
Monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for an individual are $674 in Wisconsin. If SSI represents an individual’s sole source of income, $202 in monthly rent is affordable, while the FMR for a one-bedroom is $628.
A unit is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30% of the renter’s income.
When you look at the same numbers for Madison/Dane County, here’s what you get.
– Change the fair market rent of a two-bedroom apartment from $763 to $899.
– Which means that a person needs to make $2996 instead of $2542 monthly, or $35,960 instead of $30,505 annually.
– A “housing wage” is $17.29 instead of $14.67 to afford that two bedroom working 40 hours per week.
– Working at minimum wage ($7.25) a single person would need to work 95 hours a week, or two people working 2 full time jobs and one 15 hour a week job or 2.4 jobs.
Some other interesting facts from the study are:
– 45% of renters are unable to afford a 2 bedroom apartment in Dane County.
– Renters make a median of $12.65 per hour in Dane County. Almost $5 per hour short of the “housing wage”. They can only afford $658 per month at that wage. At minimum wage ($7.75/hr) they can only afford $377 per month.
This is why I’m not exactly sad about IZ going away. IZ was supposed to help renters, but the Apartment Association sued the city and landlords became exempt because of a state prohibition on rent control. So, IZ was left to only deal with homeowners, who also need affordable housing, but not as desperately. My question is, what is the city doing to create housing diversity in neighborhoods? So that person making only $12 or $14 per hour can also have an affordable place to live with their 2 kids? Even if it isn’t the American Dream.
In case you’re wondering what the city’s plan is to address this . . . well, don’t hold your breath, here’s a lovely draft outline.
