Hudson Valley Renters Wages Are Not Keeping Up With Housing Costs

Those who rent in the area are having an increasingly difficult time making ends meet. New figures show how many hours a week the average renter needs to work to afford housing in the Hudson Valley.

The Newburgh based Pattern For Progress analyzed data that compared the average renters' hourly wage in each local county. They compared it to the fair market rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment in each area and determined how many hours per week a person would need to work just for housing.

Rockland County came in the highest while Columbia County is the lowest at 65 hours. A person must somehow work 128 hours a week in Rockland, showing just how out of reach affordable housing is for some hard-working people.

Columbia - 65 hours
Dutchess - 75 hours
Greene - 85 hours
Orange - 93 hours
Putnam -114 hours
Rockland -128 hours
Sullivan - 66 hours
Ulster - 90 hours
Westchester - 72

Surprisingly, Westchester was near the lower end, mainly because the average wage in Westchester is more than $19 an hour. When you average that out with the FMR, you get 72 hours which is still longer than a person should have to work.

Where is Jimmy McMillan of the 'Rent Is 2 Damn High' Party when you need him?!

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