Paying rent gets tougher in Utah

"The biggest thing that this study shows is that, once again, people cannot afford to live on $5.15 an hour," said Bill Tibbetts with Crossroads Urban Center.

Even a family with two wage earners could not afford the $13.04 housing rate if each made minimum wage, Tibbetts noted. A measure to raise the wage to $7.25 hour will be introduced in the upcoming legislative session, which would just barely allow workers to afford housing at no more than 30 percent of their income.

Advocates on Tuesday also called for the full removal of sales tax on food; an increase in funding for the Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund, which funds affordable housing projects across the state; and the establishment of a national low-income housing trust fund as ways to help all Utahns access quality, affordable housing.

Quick facts

To afford a two-bedroom apartment in Utah, a renter must make $13.04 an hour, which is 253 percent of the minimum wage.

To afford an average, two-bedroom apartment in Summit County, a renter must make 380 percent of the minimum wage, or $19.58 an hour.

Minimum-wage workers must work 101 hours a week to afford an average two-bedroom unit.

An extremely low-income household ($17,341 annual income) can afford a monthly rent of no more than $434.

Source: Utah Housing Coalition

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