Renters now need to work six hours more to pay rent than before the pandemic

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Nov 21, 2022, 08:00 ET

The average American needs to work 63 hours to pay monthly rent

Americans making an average wage need to work for 62.6 hours to pay the typical U.S. monthly rent.
Over the past five years, rents have grown 36.9%, while the average wage is up only 23%.
Renters in Miami need to work three full-time days more than they did five years ago to earn enough to pay the typical rent in that metro area.

SEATTLE, Nov. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- An American making an average wage needs to work about 63 hours before earning enough to pay the typical monthly U.S. rent of $2,040. That is three hours more than they would have needed to work a year ago, and six hours more than before the pandemic in October 2019, a new Zillow® analysis finds¹.

These figures illustrate the growing affordability hurdles renters face, even amid what has been a strong labor market. The average hourly wage has grown 23% over the past five years, but rents are up 36.9% over the same period.

Zillow logo (PRNewsfoto/Zillow Group)

"The rental market has cooled this year, but so far that has meant prices growing more slowly, not any real relief for renters," said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. "Rents were growing at a record pace for much of 2021, squeezing budgets for renters moving or renewing leases. Now, it appears more people are opting to double up with roommates or family, which means more vacancies and pressure on landlords to price their units competitively, offering some hope of relief on the horizon. Rents fell last month for the first time in two years, possibly the start of more price drops to come, or at least a signal that we are back to the usual seasonal rhythms of the rental market."

The typical U.S. rent finally ended a two-year streak of nonstop growth in October, falling 0.1% month over month to $2,040. Annual rent growth peaked at a record 17.1% in February, and has since slowed to 9.6% year-over-year growth.

Renters in Miami face the greatest affordability hurdles, needing to work 96 hours at the average wage to pay the typical rent. That is 24 hours more than Miami renters would have needed to work to pay rent five years ago, the biggest gap among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas.

Other Sun Belt markets — the hottest housing region during the pandemic — have seen similarly large jumps in hours of work needed to pay rent. An average worker in Tampa would need to work an additional 20 hours to pay rent compared to five years ago. Phoenix rents are up 66.7% since 2017, the most in the country among large markets, and renters need to work 17 hours more to pay rent.

Even after steep rent hikes, hours of work needed to afford rent remain below the national average of 63 hours in several Sun Belt markets. This includes Atlanta (61 hours), Phoenix (61 hours), Nashville (60 hours) and Austin (58 hours), among others. While longtime residents will see a much different picture than they may have been used to, these markets still offer relative affordability and are likely to continue to attract residents from more expensive areas of the country.

Rents have gotten easier to pay over the past five years in only three large metros, and they are among the most expensive in the country: San Jose, Boston and San Francisco. Rents have grown more slowly than average in these markets, helping wages catch up just a bit. Even after the slight drop since 2017, the average person would need to work more hours to pay rent than the national average in each of these markets.

In addition to affordability challenges, Zillow research has revealed that the search process has caused 40% of renters to lose sleep. Strategies such as being flexible about move-in date and being one of the first applicants have helped recent renters find a place to live. Zillow has tools designed to help renters search with confidence in their area, including a rent affordability calculator, rental market trends tool and a move-in date filter.

Metro Area*	Hours of Work Needed to Pay Rent**	Typical Rent (October 2022)	Five-Year Change (Typical Rent)	Five-Year Change (Average Wage)	Five-Year Change (Hours of Work Needed to Pay Rent)
United States	62.6	$2,040	36.9 %	23.0 %	6.3
New York, NY	87.0	$3,212	23.3 %	18.1 %	3.5
Los Angeles, CA	80.6	$2,979	32.9 %	28.6 %	1.7
Chicago, IL	55.4	$1,869	20.7 %	17.6 %	1.4
Dallas–Fort Worth, TX	55.6	$1,855	40.1 %	24.8 %	6.1
Houston, TX	52.4	$1,613	24.5 %	12.9 %	4.9
Washington, DC	56.3	$2,257	20.1 %	17.8 %	1.1
Miami, FL	95.9	$2,827	59.5 %	18.9 %	24.3
Philadelphia, PA	53.2	$1,793	28.5 %	17.2 %	4.7
Atlanta, GA	60.8	$2,002	54.0 %	16.4 %	14.8
Phoenix, AZ	60.6	$1,938	66.7 %	19.2 %	17.2
Boston, MA	64.7	$2,806	22.4 %	23.3 %	-0.3
San Francisco, CA	72.7	$3,199	15.0 %	16.3 %	-1.2
Riverside, CA	90.5	$2,584	53.8 %	24.4 %	17.3
Detroit, MI	43.7	$1,460	36.2 %	27.9 %	2.7
Seattle, WA	56.3	$2,285	29.4 %	12.4 %	7.4
Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN	46.1	$1,632	21.2 %	20.3 %	0.3
San Diego, CA	85.5	$3,105	46.9 %	27.0 %	11.6
Tampa, FL	69.2	$2,135	65.5 %	17.1 %	20.1
Denver, CO	54.9	$2,028	30.1 %	28.2 %	0.8
St. Louis, MO	37.1	$1,273	31.3 %	31.2 %	0.0
Baltimore, MD	53.7	$1,798	22.7 %	21.8 %	0.4
Charlotte, NC	54.8	$1,824	46.4 %	19.4 %	10.1
Orlando, FL	67.0	$2,045	53.9 %	28.2 %	11.2
San Antonio, TX	55.1	$1,518	32.9 %	21.2 %	4.8
Portland, OR	54.3	$1,949	30.3 %	28.1 %	0.9
Sacramento, CA	67.6	$2,326	41.2 %	21.8 %	9.3
Las Vegas, NV	64.7	$1,832	55.9 %	25.2 %	12.8
Pittsburgh, PA	45.1	$1,338	27.0 %	16.7 %	3.7
Austin, TX	58.0	$1,912	42.6 %	17.5 %	10.2
Cincinnati, OH	48.9	$1,505	41.9 %	19.9 %	7.6
Kansas City, MO	45.9	$1,364	36.8 %	12.4 %	8.2
Columbus, OH	52.5	$1,509	39.3 %	15.6 %	8.9
Indianapolis, IN	50.4	$1,483	44.8 %	9.6 %	12.3
Cleveland, OH	43.6	$1,370	31.3 %	21.1 %	3.4
San Jose, CA	66.3	$3,341	15.7 %	18.1 %	-1.4
Nashville, TN	59.9	$1,906	40.7 %	26.0 %	6.3
Virginia Beach, VA	56.3	$1,648	35.5 %	19.6 %	6.6
Providence, RI	62.3	$1,986	50.4 %	21.9 %	11.8
Jacksonville, FL	55.7	$1,810	53.5 %	17.3 %	13.1
Milwaukee, WI	37.4	$1,243	24.5 %	19.5 %	1.5
Oklahoma City, OK	45.5	$1,316	29.9 %	22.9 %	2.5
Raleigh, NC	55.5	$1,793	42.4 %	18.1 %	9.4
Memphis, TN	54.7	$1,501	49.0 %	23.3 %	9.5
Richmond, VA	51.1	$1,613	40.2 %	28.6 %	4.2
New Orleans, LA	53.6	$1,527	27.4 %	13.8 %	5.7
Louisville, KY	46.2	$1,293	33.4 %	22.2 %	3.9
Salt Lake City, UT	52.0	$1,764	45.1 %	24.0 %	7.5
Hartford, CT	47.5	$1,707	30.5 %	13.4 %	6.2
Buffalo, NY	41.4	$1,255	35.1 %	22.5 %	3.9
Birmingham, AL	44.0	$1,326	31.5 %	22.1 %	3.1

*Table ordered by market size

**The U.S. estimate uses October 2022 rent and wage data. Estimates for each metro area use September 2022 rent and wage data. October 2022 wage data is not yet available at the metro level.

¹Estimates for hours of work needed to pay rent use average hourly earnings data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (source: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES0500000003) and rent data according to the ZIllow Observed Rent Index. The U.S. estimate uses October 2022 rent and wage data. Estimates for each metro area use September 2022 rent and wage data. October 2022 wage data is not available at the metro level at the time of this release.

About Zillow Group
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SOURCE Zillow