160 hours a month * ($15 new minimum - $7.25 federal minimum) = $1240 increase in monthly income. You usually need 3x income to qualify for an apartment, so I

160 hours a month * ($15 new minimum - $7.25 federal minimum) = $1240 increase in monthly income. You usually need 3x income to qualify for an apartment, so I would expect people to qualify for $400/month higher rent, changing to $800/month from $400/month on minimum wage. If people on minimum wage rent a 3-bedroom as roommates, it could cause the price of a 3-bedroom to raise up to $1200 or a 2-bedroom by $800 if 100% of candidate tenants were roommates on minimum wage. The effect would realistically be lower. The article mentions people on fixed incomes like social security, which of course are going to be priced out. It also wouldn't matter for people who already made $15/hour, unless their incomes increased at the same time. You could tell which is which by looking at rent for mobile homes. You usually rent the land there and park a mobile home on it that you own. If the cause is minimum wage increasing, I would expect to see the land rent for trailer parks increase. If the cause is techie yuppies moving into the neighborhood, I would expect the trailer parks to be bought out by investors and developed.