PROVIDENCE – The amount of money a Rhode Islander has to earn to afford an apartment continues to climb. A new national report puts the income at $3,907 a month, or $46,885 annually.
The fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island reached $1,172, up from $1,102 last year, according to Out of Reach, a publication of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Rhode Island has among the highest so-called “housing wage” in the country, landing at No. 17. All of the New England states are in the top 25 for unaffordability, led by Massachusetts at No. 3, Connecticut at No. 10 and New Hampshire at No. 13. Vermont is in 16th place and Maine in 24th, according to the report.
In Rhode Island the price puts the hourly wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment at $14.24, up from $14.21 in 2020.
The full report can be read at reports.nlihc.org/oor
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
