INDIANAPOLIS — A new report from Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that the wages needed to rent the average two-bedroom apartment in Indiana ($24.13 per hour) have outpaced what the typical renter household makes.
“You need to earn about $24 an hour, but the average for all Indiana occupations is under that,” Sam Snideman with the United Way of Central Indiana said.
According to the report, the median hourly wage of all Indiana occupations is $23.65, with the average renter wage hitting $19.29 per hour. The report showed that of Indiana’s top 20 occupations, 14 pay less than the amount needed to afford fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment (roughly $1,255 per month in Indiana). Those occupations include:
- Waiters and Waitresses ($14.07 per hour)
- Fast Food and Counter Workers ($14.23 per hour)
- Cashiers ($14.66 per hour)
- Retail Salespersons ($15.58 per hour)
- Nursing Assistants ($18.94 per hour)
- Laborers (excluding construction) and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers ($20.42 per hour)
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators ($22.51 per hour)
“You’re talking about waitresses and service staff in restaurants—you’re looking at cashiers and folks that work in retail,” Snideman said. “It really is a challenge for you to afford any sort of rental property, and it becomes even more difficult when you start to add in children.”…