Out of Reach

Full-time workers in New Jersey need to earn $33.50 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. This is NJ’s 2023 “Housing Wage,” according to a report published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ (the Network).

Released annually, the Out of Reach report calls attention to the gulf between wages and what people need to earn to afford their rents. The report shows that affordable rental homes are out of reach for millions of low-wage workers and other families. The report’s “Housing Wage” is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at fair market rent without spending more than 30 percent of their incomes. Nationally, the 2023 Housing Wage is $28.58 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $23.67 for a modest one-bedroom rental home. Read More

Links of Interest 

• Fact sheet
• NJ County Ranking 
• Full Data Set
• NJ Job Occupation Wages
• Out of Reach State Rankings
• National Low Income Housing Coalition Out of Reach webpage