Vermonters who rent live in the 15th least affordable state in the nation, according to a new report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, D.C., housing advocacy group, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) in Burlington.
The annual "Out of Reach" report, released today, says rural Vermont is one of the 10 most expensive rural areas in the nation.
Vermont’s "Housing Wage" has risen to $17.70 per hour, or $36,812 a year. This represents an increase of 54% since 2000. The national Housing Wage for 2010 is $18.44.
The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn — working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year — to afford rent and utilities for a modest two-bedroom apartment in the private housing market at the average Fair Market Rent (FMR).
“Funding, planning, permitting and development of new and rehabilitated affordable housing, as well as availability of housing subsidies, are simply not keeping up with needs which have only increased with the economic downturn," says Ted Wimpey, Director of Statewide Housing Services at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity and VAHC Chairperson.
Report details are available at the NLIHC Web site.