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\nKGW8 TV:
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\nIf the average renter cannot afford to rent even a one-bedroom apartment, then how are they living in a rental unit?<\/em>
\nThis logical conflict was invented by the headline writers as the actual underlying report says something different. But the headline sure makes for good click-bait!<\/p>\n
In the version for Oregon, they use a one bedroom apartment and rents should not exceed 30% of income. The average hourly wage in Oregon is $25 per hour or $52,000 per year.<\/p>\n
Update November 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n Another study notes<\/a> that San Francisco, judged one of the most expensive cities in the country, is 2nd best rental prices when taking into account the high median income.<\/p>\n Update July 2018<\/strong>: The actual study this comes from words the claim differently than that distributed by the news media and its a subtle but important difference: “a full-time minimum wage worker afford a one-bedroom rental home at fair market rent<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a>“.<\/p>\n “Fair market rent” is normally defined by the Federal government as the 40th percentile for local market rents.<\/p>\n When the claim is unrolled and translated into English, it actually says<\/p>\n Average Oregon renter cannot afford a one bedroom apartment in the top 60% of the market.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n News reports left off the last part “… that costs in the upper 60% of rentals”<\/p>\n Note the significant change in your interpretation of the headline from “Average renter cannot afford a one bedroom apartment” to “Average renter cannot afford a one bedroom apartment in the top 60% of market prices”.<\/p>\n The latter is no where near as dramatic as saying no one can afford an apartment.<\/p>\n This demonstrates the effectiveness of propaganda messaging. The story was widely distributed, receiving prominent newspaper and television coverage – even though the message delivered by the media was false.<\/p>\n The news reports took the false interpretation and translated that into the average minimum wage earning worker cannot afford a one bedroom apartment. But that is NOT what the study actually said<\/em>.<\/p>\n