Business & Economy
Housing costs outstrip wages for low-income workers
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By NICK KIPPER
Capital News Service
LANSING — A Michigan resident making minimum wage has to work 73 hours per week — or 1.8 full-time jobs — to afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment, according to a recent study. That ranks the state 28th in terms of affordable housing costs, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, based in Washington, D.C.. The report analyzed how much an hourly minimum-wage worker must earn to afford to rent or own a home in a particular region without spending more than the 30 percent of his or her income. That’s a standard that federal authorities recommend should be spent on housing. Michigan’s minimum wage is $9.25.