This is how much more than minimum wage SC renters must earn to afford a two bedroom
South Carolina’s minimum wage hasn’t been enough to pay the average person’s rent in a long time, and as prices keep going up, renters need to earn a lot more than $7.25 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a report that reveals the significant difference between a renter’s necessary wage to afford rent and the federal minimum wage.
Looking at the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for SC, the data paints a picture of the current rental housing market.
What SC renter must earn
As you can imagine, a renter in SC would need to make a significant amount more than the federal minimum wage to pay for a two-bedroom apartment and still have enough money to afford other essentials.
The Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in SC is $1,347. To afford that, renters would need to earn at least $25.91 an hour, nearly four times the minimum wage, or earn $53,8965 a year. The exact difference between the necessary hourly wage and minimum wage is $18.66.
In other terms, a person in SC would simply have to work 3.6 full-time jobs at minimum wage to afford rent.
This is actually quite affordable compared to other states. The report ranked each state by the necessary wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Here’s where SC landed:
SC national ranking
SC ranked 32nd in the country for the average wage a renter would need to afford a two-bedroom apartment. That means renters in 31 other states require a higher wage of more than $25.91 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment than renters in SC.
The Palmetto State may have cheaper rent than other parts of the country, meaning SC renters don’t need as large an income to pay for an apartment, but many South Carolinians are still struggling to afford a place on their current paycheck.
According to the report, the average SC renter makes $17.76 an hour, less than $8 an hour than what the report says is required to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
What is SC’s living wage?
The Living Wage Calculator, created by MIT, shows how much individuals need to earn to support themselves and/or their families. It calculates the costs of each basic need that go into estimating the living wage and can vary by location and family size.
A single adult in South Carolina needs to earn $22.34/hour to cover basic expenses without children, and a one-child household must earn $36.79/hour.
The required annual income for a two-adult household with only one child is $73,881. This only accounts for necessities and doesn’t include expenses for frugal items and vacations.
Average cost of expenses
This is the cost of essentials for a family of two that are both working with one child in SC:
- Food: $9,586
- Child care: $10,394
- Medical: $11,018
- Transportation: $13,749
- Internet and mobile: $2,116
Resources for renters
If you’re struggling to find affordable housing in SC, there are resources to help:
- Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher programs
- 211 South Carolina connects residents with emergency rental assistance, utility help and housing navigation services
- HUD’s rental assistance finder can help find federally subsidized units