East Bay Times: How many minimum wage jobs does it take to pay Bay Area rent?

The Policy Pipeline: Jul 6, 2021

July 2, 2021

San Francisco Chronicle: Here’s the hourly pay you need to comfortably afford the rent on a S.F. apartment

July 14, 2021

Two people holding signs in front of a building

High Bay Area rents come with another cost for low-income workers — they need multiple jobs just to make the monthly payments.

It takes the equivalent of more than four full-time minimum wage jobs for a worker in San Jose or San Francisco to afford a two-bedroom apartment and still have money left over for food, health care and transportation, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“It really is a clarion sign for the Bay Area and California to take action,” said Amie Fishman, executive director of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California.

“We are not living in a moment of scarcity,” Fishman said, noting the enormous economic gains in recent years by Silicon Valley companies and their employees. “We have an abundance of resources in the Bay Area and California.”