Central Florida residents need to earn at least $25.40 an hour to afford rent, report says

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ORLANDO, Fla. - With the cost of rent rising to historic levels in the state of Florida, a new report breaks down what residents need to earn per hour in order to comfortably afford a 2-bedroom apartment.

The 2021 Out of Reach report published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition what a person needs to make per hour in the state of Florida to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment without paying more than 30% of their income.

Overall, it's recommended that Floridians should earn at least $24.82 per hour. That's to afford the state's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment, which is about $1,290.

"In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $4,302 monthly or $51,619 annually," the report states.

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However, when it comes to individual markets, some residents need to earn a lot more.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition report states that residents living in several Florida counties need to make over $25 an hour to afford rent. Those counties include Collier ($26.46), Palm Beach ($28.23), Broward ($29.04), Miami-Dade ($29.83), and Monroe ($33.54).

Residents in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area need to be earning $25.40 at a full-time job in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The most expensive state to live in is California where the recommended hourly wage is $39.03.

If the numbers scare you, you could always move to Arkansas: their overall recommendation is $14.60 an hour.

You can read the full report HERE.

In the last year, rent in the Orlando market has increased nearly 14%, according to CoStar Group which is a company that analyses the housing and commercial real estate industry.

"We’ve never seen demand like this in Orlando," said the Director of Market Analytics in Florida for CoStar Group Brian Alford. "If you look at the market, all of Orlando is seeing record levels of rent growth."

Alford blames the drastic upward trend on the housing market, where homes are selling fast and the inventory is low so it's forcing renters to be locked in place.

People are not only stuck renting, but many are struggling to pay it. Alford predicts this upward trend will stop, but not before more people sign into another lease.

"The rent growth will not stay this high. It really can’t keep growing at this rate. It’s already pushing the limits of what people can afford."

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