( NewsNation ) — Minimum wage won’t cover the cost of a typical one-bedroom anywhere in the country , but some major cities are better for low-income workers than others.
A recent study by Clever, a real estate consultancy, found that Buffalo, New York, is the cheapest option for renters making the local minimum wage, though it’s still considered unaffordable.
Minimum-wage workers in Buffalo can expect to pay 39% of their income for a typical one-bedroom unit. That’s the lowest rent-to-income ratio of any major city in the country but still higher than the common affordability threshold of 30%.
Allies hope a Trump win changes the system for mortgages. Some warn it will make them pricier
Only two other cities in Clever’s analysis — St. Louis, Missouri, and Hartford, Connecticut — had rent-to-income ratios under 50%, which is the percentage of a person’s gross monthly income that goes toward rent.
Midwestern cities like Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Kansas City also ranked near the top for affordability. All of the cities at the top of the list had minimum wages that were higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.