Definition
The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a household must earn while working 40 hours a week to afford a rental housing unit at HUD's Fair Market Rent (FMR) and pay no more than 30% of its income towards housing costs. HUD Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are the 40th percentile of gross rents for typical, non-substandard rental units occupied by recent movers in a local housing market. 30% of income is the federal standard of affordability.
The income needed to afford an apartment at HUD's FMR is calculated by multiplying the FMR for the number of bedrooms by 12 to get the yearly rental cost and then divide by .30 to determine the total income needed for the unit to be affordable.
The Housing Wage as a percentage of minimum wage is calculated by dividing the housing wage by the Vermont minimum wage and multiplying by 100.
