Renters Need 56 Hours a Week to Afford Rent

A Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia study finds renters in nearly every state would need to work more than 40 hours weekly to afford a modest two-bedroom rental.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Apartments

Vector editorial illustration of a brass house key beside a large blank clock on a cream field, in coral, teal, and mustard, evoking the time renters must spend to afford housing. — A Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia study finds the average U.S. renter would need to work about 56 hours a week to keep a two-bedroom rental within 30% of income. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you think renting a modest two-bedroom home now takes more than 40 hours of work weekly?

A study published by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia finds renters in nearly every state would need to work more than 40 hours a week to afford a modest two-bedroom rental. The average renter nationwide would need to work about 56 hours a week to keep housing costs within 30% of income.

Why it matters

The findings quantify how far rental costs outpace wages for many households, measuring affordability in weekly work hours rather than dollars. Because the benchmark assumes housing should consume no more than 30% of income, the gap highlights how much pressure renters face nationwide.

The study compared 2026 fair market rent estimates from HUD with National Low Income Housing Coalition wage data, using a 30% of income benchmark. Hawaii requires nearly 87 weekly work hours and Wyoming about 43.8, while North Dakota is the only state where a 40-hour week suffices at roughly 39.6 hours.

The players

Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

A regional business advocacy organization that published the study on renter affordability across the United States.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The federal agency that produces the fair market rent estimates used to calculate housing costs in the study.

National Low Income Housing Coalition

A nonprofit advocacy organization that publishes wage data used to measure what renters earn relative to housing costs.

The details

The study calculated required weekly work hours by dividing fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit by the wage available to renters, assuming housing costs should stay within 30% of income. Wyoming ranks as the second-most affordable state, while the findings show renters in nearly every other state need more than a standard workweek to cover rent.

2026: Fair market rent estimates used in the study were issued.
November 8, 2026: The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia published the study findings.

Real Estate Context

The study builds on HUD's annual fair market rent estimates, the federal benchmark that the study applies to 2026 rental costs to measure affordability. It translates those estimates into required weekly work hours, a measure that shows how housing costs compare to wages in each state.

Renters can compare their own rent to the 30% of income benchmark to see whether their housing costs fall within the study's affordability threshold. The findings show that renters in most states would need to work more than 40 hours weekly to afford a modest two-bedroom unit.

The takeaway

Renters can measure their own housing burden by comparing rent against their income, using the 30% of income benchmark the study applies. Tracking that ratio helps renters judge whether a unit is affordable before signing a lease.