In Illinois, somebody being paid minimum wage would have to work 99 hours a week to afford the average two-bedroom apartment. That’s according to a new study.
The study found the average cost for a two bedroom apartment in the state is more than one-thousand dollars a month.
Sharon Legenza is Executive Director of Housing Action Illinois.
“Even if we were to raise the minimum wage, the gap between what the minimum wage currently is in the state and what the housing wage is for two bedroom apartment is so great that we have to think about the income levels but also about providing more supply so that more people can just have access to affordable housing.”
Illinois’ minimum wage is $8.25 an hour. While housing costs vary, especially from large cities to more rural areas, the study determine there is no place in the U-S that a minimum wage worker could afford an average two bedroom apartment.