Report: Utah housing prices rising faster than wages

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A new report indicates the cost of housing in Utah is increasing at a faster rate than wages for low income households.

The Deseret News reports that a study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition released Wednesday shows people earning minimum wage would need to work 98 hours per week to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in the state.

Utah Housing Coalition Executive Director Tara Rollins says the gap between housing prices and low-wage jobs is becoming unbridgeable without assistance.

Rollins says housing is considered affordable if a unit at fair market rent costs 30 percent or less of a wage earner’s income.

She says a Utah household would need to make a monthly income of $3,079 to afford the average two-bedroom unit.

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