In Colorado, full-time workers need to earn an hourly wage of at least $36.79 to afford $2,000 in monthly rent, which is below the federal fair market rate for a Denver-area two-bedroom unit.
87 percent of low-income Coloradans spend more than one-third of their pretax income on housing — a common benchmark for housing affordability. High costs of housing, child care and transportation in Colorado are key drivers of a statewide cost of living that is 12 percent above the national average.
For many Coloradans, a few hundred extra dollars a month would go a long way. Yet today, the U.S. safety net appears more tenuous than ever and is unlikely to meet all their needs.
- Dear Denver City Council: Don’t Block Our Shot!
Nationally, over the 43-day government shutdown that began on October 1, 1.4 million federal workers went without paychecks. More than 150,000 jobs were cut in the U.S. private sector in October alone…