New Jersey ranks fifth most expensive state for renters, housing affordability report says
A new report says a full-time worker in New Jersey must earn nearly $44 an hour to afford what is described as a modest two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent.
More Stories
New Jersey is the fifth most expensive state in the nation for renters, according to a housing affordability report released Thursday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.
The groups' annual Out of Reach report found that a full-time worker in New Jersey must earn $43.89 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's fair market rent without spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
The report said the average renter in New Jersey earns $24.92 an hour. Nationally, the housing wage for a modest two-bedroom rental is $34.73 an hour.
"Housing is a basic necessity for everyone. It is a human right that is threatened by rising costs and one that is growing further out of reach for households, especially low-income families," Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey President and CEO Staci Berger said in a statement. "It is extremely alarming that NJ is now the 5th least affordable state in the country to rent an apartment. For the last few years, we have ranked 7th in this report, but this new data shows we are moving in the wrong direction."
The advocacy groups said they welcomed New Jersey's recently enacted FAIR Act, which prohibits the use of algorithmic rent-setting practices that coordinate prices across competing landlords. They said additional state investment is needed to expand affordable housing.
California is ranked as the most expensive state for renters, followed by Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York.
