MAPPED: Cities Where Minimum-Wage Workers Must Work 80-Plus Hours Just to Pay Rent

by Allaire Conte

For millions of Americans earning minimum wage, rent isn’t just a monthly bill—it’s a second full-time job. In some cities, two roommates splitting an apartment with the median asking rent must work the equivalent of 80 hours per week just to keep up with their share of the housing costs and keep overhead under the recommended 30% of income.

“Although rents have declined for two consecutive years, minimum-wage earners still struggle—often working extended hours to keep housing within reach,” says Realtor.com® economist Jiayi Xu.

The reality is that paychecks at the bottom of the wage scale haven’t kept pace with rising rents, leaving workers to shoulder longer hours just to cover the basics.

To capture the scale of that burden, we calculated how many hours minimum-wage workers must clock every week to afford a typical studio to 2-bedroom rental. Using the 30% affordability rule and assuming two renters share a unit, the results paint a sobering picture of where wages fall against housing costs.

But it’s not all bad news, says Xu. “With minimum wages set to rise in more than half of the 50 largest markets next year, alongside a continued softening of the rental market, more renters could feel relief, even as broader affordability challenges persist.”

Cities where rent costs the most hours of work at minimum wage

High rents aren’t the only factor driving the number of hours minimum-wage workers must put in to cover rent. While notoriously expensive cities like Boston make the list, some places better known for their affordability—like Milwaukee—outrank New York City. A major driver was that local minimum wages simply haven’t kept pace with rising housing costs, leaving workers to put in more time to make up the gap.

In these cities, a minimum-wage worker has to log nearly an average of 82 hours per week just to afford their share of rent. Across the group, the average minimum wage is just $8.03 an hour, while the average rent comes in at $1,696 a month.

Here’s a closer look at the cities:

Philadelphia, PA

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,771
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 94

Milwaukee, WI

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,662
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 88

Atlanta, GA

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,576
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 84

Charlotte, NC

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,519
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 81

Nashville, TN

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,531
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 81

Pittsburgh, PA

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,490
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 79

Raleigh, NC

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,498
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 79

Boston, MA

Minimum wage per hour: $15
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $2,993
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 77

Austin, TX

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,460
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 77

Dallas, TX

Minimum wage per hour: $7.25
Median asking rent (0-2 bedroom): $1,458
Hours needed to cover rent (with a roommate): 77

Cities where rent costs the fewest hours of work at minimum wage

In these cities, renters earning minimum wage can keep their housing costs manageable in large part due to stronger local wage laws. Here, workers need to put in only about 39 hours per week to cover their share of rent—less than half the burden faced in the hardest-hit markets.

The difference comes down to pay: The average minimum wage in these cities is $15.82 an hour, nearly double what workers earn in places where they must work the most. Nowhere is the power of an hourly wage more apparent than in Seattle, where the median asking rent for a studio to 2-bedroom apartment is $1,999 (the ninth highest of all the cities we looked at), but minimum-wage workers need to put in just 37 hours to cover their share—thanks to a $20.76 minimum wage.

Rents in these cities are slightly lower, too, with the average asking price around $1,554 a month—about $142 lower than the top cities.