3 ms·

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I'm understanding the methodology... am I missing something? According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 1-bed

by thyroxo 12y ago

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I'm understanding the methodology... am I missing something? According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 1-bedroom rent+utilities cost (or FMR) is $750 for Schenectady County, NY. [1] At minimum wage, and 40 hours each week, you make $7.25404 = $1160 each month. How is $1160 < $750? [1]: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2014_code/2014summary.odn http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2014_code/...

lutorm 12y ago
Presumably it's based on the fact that you can "afford" to live there if you don't spend more than x % of your income on housing, where x < 100.
mikeash 12y ago
They are assuming that you spend 30% of your income on housing, leaving you money for food, transportation, taxes, etc.
- thyroxo 12y ago
  I wonder if that assumption is fair. Also, do you know where it says that in the article?
  - reboog711 12y ago
    It doesn't say that in the article... It is an important point that would provide context to a lot of numbers.
  - danielweber 12y ago
    In some dense cities, the bulk of the transportation costs are rolled into your housing costs, because you are buying walking distance to a subway.
    - mikeash 12y ago
      Yes, it really seems like a variable approach would work better. There's a big difference between spending 30% of your income on housing while living in a rural area and doing so in the middle of Manhattan. I imagine that percentage could go considerably higher in big cities.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Click "wrote about a report", then in that article click "new report", and you'll find this: "The signature finding of Out of Reach is the annual Housing Wage - the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a decent two-bedroom rental home at HUD-estimated Fair Market Rent (FMR) while spending no more than 30% of income on housing costs." It is not at all obvious. I really wish that news articles like this would set aside a section where they explicitly name and link to their sources rather than burying them as hyperlinks in the text.
  - dm2 12y ago
    This mentions the 30%, they should have mentioned it in the article, it's the standard amount they use every year I think: http://nlihc.org/oor/2014 http://nlihc.org/oor/2014 Also, many places won't let you rent without meeting the 30% of income amount.
c0g 12y ago
Allowing for food, transport, etc?
abshack 12y ago
$750/$1160 is ~64%. The common definition for affordable rent is ~30% of monthly wage[1] (based on some quick google-fu). [1] http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-topics/files/who-can-afford.pdf http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-topics/files/...
- mhurron 12y ago
  The lower your income, the higher percentage of it will go to housing unless you are prepared to live in a dank, urine-soaked hellhole.
  - extra88 12y ago
    Or have (more) roommates. Three people together can get a 2-3 bedroom apartment that's better than the 1 bedroom apartments they can get individually.
Avshalom 12y ago
actually you make about 960 after federal withholding, oasdi and a couple other things (mandatory longterm disability at 4.50 a month) so food, transport, clothes, cleaning supplies, laundromat, insurance etc. would have to fit into ~200 a month.

by thyroxo 12y ago

lutorm 12y ago

Presumably it's based on the fact that you can "afford" to live there if you don't spend more than x % of your income on housing, where x < 100.

mikeash 12y ago

They are assuming that you spend 30% of your income on housing, leaving you money for food, transportation, taxes, etc.

thyroxo 12y ago
I wonder if that assumption is fair. Also, do you know where it says that in the article?
- reboog711 12y ago
  It doesn't say that in the article... It is an important point that would provide context to a lot of numbers.
- danielweber 12y ago
  In some dense cities, the bulk of the transportation costs are rolled into your housing costs, because you are buying walking distance to a subway.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Yes, it really seems like a variable approach would work better. There's a big difference between spending 30% of your income on housing while living in a rural area and doing so in the middle of Manhattan. I imagine that percentage could go considerably higher in big cities.
- mikeash 12y ago
  Click "wrote about a report", then in that article click "new report", and you'll find this: "The signature finding of Out of Reach is the annual Housing Wage - the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a decent two-bedroom rental home at HUD-estimated Fair Market Rent (FMR) while spending no more than 30% of income on housing costs." It is not at all obvious. I really wish that news articles like this would set aside a section where they explicitly name and link to their sources rather than burying them as hyperlinks in the text.
- dm2 12y ago
  This mentions the 30%, they should have mentioned it in the article, it's the standard amount they use every year I think: http://nlihc.org/oor/2014 http://nlihc.org/oor/2014 Also, many places won't let you rent without meeting the 30% of income amount.

c0g 12y ago

Allowing for food, transport, etc?

abshack 12y ago

$750/$1160 is ~64%. The common definition for affordable rent is ~30% of monthly wage[1] (based on some quick google-fu). [1] http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-topics/files/who-can-afford.pdf http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/special-topics/files/...

mhurron 12y ago
The lower your income, the higher percentage of it will go to housing unless you are prepared to live in a dank, urine-soaked hellhole.
- extra88 12y ago
  Or have (more) roommates. Three people together can get a 2-3 bedroom apartment that's better than the 1 bedroom apartments they can get individually.

Avshalom 12y ago

actually you make about 960 after federal withholding, oasdi and a couple other things (mandatory longterm disability at 4.50 a month) so food, transport, clothes, cleaning supplies, laundromat, insurance etc. would have to fit into ~200 a month.