High Costs Mean Instability for Many
High housing costs in Massachusetts are a significant cause of family homelessness. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the statewide average Fair Market Rent of a 2-Bedroom apartment is almost $1,900 a month. This means that a worker at minimum wage would need to work more than 107 hours a week to afford an apartment large enough to fit a family with children.
Given this reality, NLIHC developed a concept of a “housing wage,” or the wage that a worker would need to earn in order to pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. As of 2021, this wage would need to be $36.24 an hour statewide, but as high as $45.00 in higher-cost Metro Boston.
For too many families, such incomes are unattainable. Indeed, over 70% of very low-income households in Massachusetts spend more than 30% of their incomes on rent. Families burdened by high housing costs may find themselves a small setback—be it a layoff or a fender-bender—away from losing their home and entering shelter.