Every candidate seeking office should have a plan to address the fact that renters in Illinois must earn more than $20 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

In order to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in Illinois, renters need to earn $20.34per hour. This means that to afford a two-bedroom home without paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs, a person earning our state minimum wage ($8.25 per hour) must work 99 hours per week just to make ends meet.

This Housing Wage is shared in Out of Reach 2018, a national report co-released today in Illinois by Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

 

“Every legislator should be talking about the fact that nowhere in Illinois can a full-time minimum wage worker afford rent,” says Sharon Legenza, Executive Director of Housing Action Illinois. “And every candidate seeking an elected office should have a plan for how to change this. Housing should be a source of stability, not insecurity. Voters deserve to know how our elected officials intend to make sure that every one of their constituents has a good, affordable place to call home.”

The report includes the Housing Wage for every county in Illinois. Find out what the Housing Wage is where you live:

Read the Report Here