What does it cost?

Shocking wage needed to rent a San Francisco 2-bedroom

By David Curran

A new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition confirms what many might assume: if you earn minimum wage, your rental options in San Francisco are extremely limited.

The report placed the city as the least affordable place to rent in California, estimating you need to make $58.04 per hour to be able to afford a 2-bedroom in the city, which they are estimating has a current fair-market rent of $3,018.

The $58.04 is more than four times the current $13 minimum wage in the city, though that figure is set to rise to $14 per hour this year. But considering the $3,018 rental figure is from 2015, and many would say is on the low side, the coming bump to $14 per hour probably won't help too much.

According to the NLIHC report, it would actually require 5.5 people making minimum wage to afford a $3,018 2-bedroom in the city.

So are there places a minimum wage earner can afford a 2-bedroom? As Curbed cites from the report, "There are only 12 counties in the country where a minimum wage earner can reasonably afford a ONE bedroom apartment."

Nearby San Francisco, there is little immediate relief for the low-wage earner. The report recommends you make $41.79 to rent a 2-bedroom in Oakland. On the other hand, only $19.92 per hour is needed to afford a 2-bedroom in Sacramento and $17.15 per hour in Redding.

In the above slideshow, see many essential professions that, while paying far more than minimum wage, still, on the whole, don't pay enough to afford the current rental market in San Francisco.