Renting a 2-bedroom in Hawaii? Data shows what you really need to make hourly

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - While more people face financial hardship as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, there’s a new ranking for Hawaii — and its a list most people wouldn’t want the state to be at the top of.

According to new data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Hawaii ranks as the state with the highest living wage needed to afford a 2 bedroom rental home.

The data was broken down in this interactive map. Hawaii residents need to make an average of $38.76 an hour to rent a modest two bedroom home at fair market value without spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgage.

That equates to an annual salary of more than $81,600. The coalition’s data also factors in utilities.

Following Hawaii was California with the second highest living wage needed, then Massachusetts, the District of Colombia, and New York, in that order.

Right now, Hawaii’s minimum wage is $10.10 an hour. With that income, the data showed that residents would need to work 3.8 full-time jobs to comfortably afford a 2-bedroom rental home.

On a minimum wage job for a 1-bedroom, a resident would need to work 117 hours per week.

Oahu county was listed as the most expensive with a $41.54 living wage, followed by Kauai with $36.17. Hawaii Island was the lowest ranking of the state at $27.48.

Click here to access the full interactive map.

States with the lowest living wages: Arkansas coming in at $14.19 an hour, Mississippi at $14.89, and West Virginia at $14.97.

Read the full report below:

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