I'm not opposed to your general points, but there are a few flaws in your data. Those earning minimum wage aren't going to be able to afford "an average" apart

I'm not opposed to your general points, but there are a few flaws in your data. Those earning minimum wage aren't going to be able to afford "an average" apartment. They will likely only be able to afford a starter apartment which is more likely to cost much less than average and are more likely to live with family members or commute from a more affordable geographic locale. Income in US is not directly comparable to most other OECD countries for multiple reasons. Labor laws (paid vs. unpaid sick days, vacation days, ma/paternity time off, union dues), taxation policies (local, state, federal, employer), health care costs (no nationwide price negotiation), health insurance costs (lots of problems here), school tuition costs (because the demographic highly overlaps with school-aged young adults), lack of public transportation in most geographic regions, etc all add up to costs which are obscured by using the simple "gross income after housing and maintenance" figure.