In the Philadelphia region, retail employees will need to earn more than double their current annual income to afford the median-priced apartment in the area, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia metropolitan area retail workers earned a median annual salary of $35,006 in 2024. In order to comfortably afford the rent for an apartment, with a median price of $1,783 in October, they would need an income of $71,331, according to a new Redfin report.
“As the cost of living has increased, so have the sacrifices renters must make to afford a place to live,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “Since most retail workers don’t earn enough to afford the typical apartment, many are opting to share rent with a family member or friend, move far away from their job, or live in a very small space.”
The report, which analyzed wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, identified similar affordability challenges across all 40 major areas analyzed. It concluded that a typical U.S. retail worker would need to work 83 hours per week to live alone.
Read more about how retail employees need to work double the hours to afford the average apartment in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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