How much do you need to make to afford an apartment in Georgia

MACON, Ga. — Research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition sought to answer a simple question: How much do you need to earn an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the state of Georgia and in other U.S. states? 

In general, the data suggest that rents in Central Georgia are below the state and national average. Here's what the research found: 

Statewide data:

The project, which looked at all states across the U.S., found that a single person in Georgia would need to earn $28.98 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment, with the average fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment being $1,507 a month. 

For a one-bedroom apartment, the average fair market rent was $1,320.

With Georgia's minimum wage being the same as the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a minimum wage worker would have to work 140 hours to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment in the state, the researchers found.

Since the project was nationwide, it found that Georgia ranked 20th on the list. That means out of all 50 states, Georgia ranks 20th for the highest hourly wage needed to afford a modest apartment.

Macon data:

While the project does not sort things based on city or county or geographic area, they do break it down by zip codes.

Looking at a random set of zip codes in Macon, the data suggests rents in the county are lower than the statewide average.

In zip code 31201, which includes downtown Macon, they say the average hourly wage to afford a one-bedroom is $17.12 and $19.63 to afford a two-bedroom. They say the average one-bedroom home is $890 and the average two-bedroom is $1,020. That area also includes the area south of Mercer's campus.

In 31210, which includes much of North Macon, the data suggests the hourly wage necessary is much higher and closer to the statewide average, with a person needing to make $22.88 an hour to afford a one-bedroom and $26.35 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. 

Houston County data:

In Houston County's 31093, the researchers say the average salary to afford a one-bedroom is $18.08 an hour and $20.38 to afford a two-bedroom, with one-bedroom running $940 to and two-bedroom running $1,060.

In Centerville's 31028, they say the average wage to afford a one-bedroom is $22.50 an hour and $25.19 an hour to afford a two-bedroom. In Warner Robin's 31088, they say the average wage to afford a one-bedroom is $22.69 an hour and $25.58 an hour for a two-bedroom. 

However, there are some exceptions with the area around the Air Force base and Bonaire inching towards $30 an hour to afford a two-bedroom.

Nationally:

In the U.S., they found that a full-time worker needed to earn an hourly wage of $32.11 to afford an average two-bedroom rental home and $26.74 to afford a modest one-bedroom. 

According to their research, the average market rate one-bedroom was $1,390 and the average two-bedroom is $1,670.

But in which state do workers need to make the most to afford a modest apartment? According to the researchers, Californians need to make $47.38 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. 

However, a minimum wage worker in California has to work 32 hours less a week than one in Georgia to afford a one-bedroom apartment. A Georgia worker, with its federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, would have to 160 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom and a California would have to work 118 hours a week.

Here are the 5 states with the highest hourly wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

1. California: $47.38 an hour

2. Massachusetts: $44.84 an hour

3. New York with $44.77 an hour.

4. Hawaii: $44.60 an hour

5. Washington: $40.32 an hour

If you want to explore the state-by-state data, you can find that here. If you want to explore by ZIP code, you can find that here.