Study: R.I. renters face 13th-highest burden

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island renters faced the 13th-highest cost burden in the country last year, while the average cost of rental housing in the state saw the second-highest jump in cost between 2000 and 2008, according to a national report released last week.
The report, Out of Reach 2009, was released by Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition. It ranked three other New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire – in the top 10 for unaffordablity.
Hawaii, which experienced the greatest jump in prices since 2000, had the highest rental costs in the country.
The report said the “fair-market rent” for a two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island is $976. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn $3,252 monthly or $39,021 annually. Assuming a 40-hour workweek, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a housing wage of $18.76.
However, the report said, the estimated mean wage for a renter in Rhode Island is $12.01 an hour. In order to afford the fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment at this wage, a renter must work 62 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. •