A minimum wage earner in the U.S. would have work 106 hours a week to afford the rent in a median-priced apartment, Redfin says.

That’s how many hours a person earning the effective minimum wage of $11.59 would have to work to afford the $1,599 median-priced home, Redfin said. The actual federal minimum of $7.25 hasn’t changed since 2009, but the effective minimum wage has increased in 30 states over the past decade.

Redfin’s Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said that while it’s not realistic for most people to work more than 100 hours a week, this “shines a light on the massive rental affordability gap” between average wage earners and low-income workers.

“It’s virtually impossible for a minimum-wage worker to afford the typical apartment on their own,” Fairweather said.  She noted that many people are forced to live with roommates or family, or by applying for housing assistance or vouchers.

Rent growth and prices have cooled off from the August 2022 peak of $1,704, but are still 20% above the pre-pandemic level, Redfin reported.  It would take a minimum wage earner 32 hours of work per week just to cover rent with nothing else left over for other household expenses.

The picture is uneven in the states, though. New Hampshire minimum wage workers, for example, would have to work 224 hours to afford the typical apartment. That’s because the effective wage is $7.25 per hour and the median rent is $2,110. In Pennsylvania and Idaho, the minimum wage earner would have to work 183 hours and 165 hours, respectively.

By contrast in South Dakota, where the effective minimum wage is $11.20 per hour, the worker would need to clock a 75-hour work week to afford the $1,085 median-priced home, Redfin said. Missouri and Nebraska are the next lowest at 76 hours.