Here’s how much you need to make to rent comfortably in your Sacramento-area ZIP code
We’ve all heard it before: housing in Sacramento is expensive. How much you pocket from work could make it even more frustrating when rent is due.
The housing wage or hourly pay you need to earn to comfortably afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Sacramento ZIP code 95814 is $30.19, more than double California’s $15 minimum wage, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s new U.S. housing wage study. Residents living in a one-bedroom would need to be making $24.04 an hour.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition “Out of Reach: The Highest Cost of Living” reports the gap between tenant wages and the cost to rent housing in the U.S. The words “affordability” or “comfortably” are consistent with the federal standard that no more than 30% of someone’s income should go toward rent.
The housing wages reflect the 40-hour work week of full-time nongovernmental employees and include paid leave, bonuses, tips and stocks, according to the U.S. housing wage study. Renter wage data was based on the U.S Bureau of labor and Statistics’ 2020 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages count.
Inflation was also considered in the estimated renter hourly wage.
To live “comfortably” in a two-bedroom apartment in Arden Arcade ZIP code 95821, you would ideally be making $25.58, nearly $5 less than the folks living in downtown Sacramento, according to the study. Those living in Elk Grove ZIP code 95758 should be making a couple of dollars more an hour than downtown residents to afford their rent.
Use this interactive map, compiled with data provided by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, to find the housing wage in your Sacramento-area ZIP code. ZIP code housing wages are based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development small area fair market rents and ZIP codes are organized by the U.S. Postal Service, the housing coalition wrote on its website.
This story was originally published August 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.