The Daily Journal: Report: Housing ‘out of reach’ for many workers

NBC Bay Area: Housing ‘Out of Reach’ for Bay Area Minimum Wage Workers: Report

August 17, 2022

Skyline view of Alcatraz from San Francisco hill

San Francisco Chronicle: California lawmakers just voted to make it easier to add housing. Will Bay Area cities build?

August 30, 2022

A person who wants to live in a two-bedroom, market rate apartment in the San Francisco metropolitan area must make more than $60 an hour to afford it, according to a report released Thursday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2022 Out of Reach report highlights the affordability crisis in the Bay Area and nationwide. It says full-time minimum wage workers are unable to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home in any state, metropolitan area, or county. In 91% of U.S. counties, a one-bedroom rental home at fair market rent is also out of reach for a full-time minimum wage worker.

Alina Harway, spokesperson for the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, which advocates for affordable housing in the Bay Area, thinks residents need to press lawmakers to create the changes needed. It’s up to residents to decide “what do we want for our communities?” Harway said.