In both Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, it takes more than three full-time minimum-wage incomes for a person to comfortably afford the typical one-bedroom rental home, according to new research from Zillow Group.
Of the largest 50 cities in the U.S., Dallas is one of six where it takes at least four minimum-wage incomes to reasonably afford a two-bedroom rental, according to Zillow’s research.
Both Dallas and Fort Worth use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Zillow defines “comfortably affording” a rental as spending no more 30% of income on rent.
In the city of Dallas, the typical one-bedroom rental is $1,145 a month and the typical two-bedroom rental is $1,412 a month, according to Zillow. In Fort Worth, the typical one-bedroom is $1,087 per month and the typical two-bedroom is $1,315 a month.
Only in 10 cities can two full-time minimum-wage earners afford the typical two-bedroom rental, the company found.
“This is perhaps the only context in which San Francisco is more affordable than San Antonio,” said Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud in a statement. “Renters have been squeezed by record-fast rent growth while incomes haven’t kept up. That’s true for those making minimum wage, but especially so where the minimum wage hasn’t budged for more than a decade.
“Clearing the path for more construction, especially at entry-level prices, is needed to make housing more affordable across the board.”
Apartment rents in the metro area are not falling from year to year, despite apartment demand in Dallas-Fort Worth dipping in the middle of last year for reasons that could include renters not going ahead with leases or doubling up to save money. The average monthly rent was up 13.4% in the metro area as of September from a year earlier, according to RealPage data.
