Can Teachers, Nurses, and Retail Workers Afford the Rent?

Employees who can work remotely might have taken advantage of opportunities to buy a home far from their jobs. But workers in occupations where telework is not an option are forced to live in properties that are older and smaller than the typical rental.

Zillow examined what renters who work as teachers and nurses and in food services and retail are doing to keep rent payments affordable. It found that merely affording rent does not mean renters are always living in an ideal situation. Workers are keeping their rent burden manageable by living in smaller and older units, and their situations vary widely based on income levels between metro areas.

In Milwaukee, for example, renting teachers spend only about an eighth (12.6%) of their income on rent, but the rentals available to them to keep their burden that low are typically 86 years older than the typical rental available on the market. In Raleigh, where the typical teacher rent burden is 14.6%, the typical teacher apartment is 452 square feet smaller than the market median. Teachers in Hartford, Conn., currently pay 12.9% of their income on rent — and would need a raise of $3,136 per month in order to afford the typical local rental unit (priced at $1,604) without increasing their rent burden. Instead, they typically live in units that are 339 square feet smaller and 24 years older than the area’s median, and in units less likely to be single-family homes that might provide more space and privacy for a growing family. In 36 of the top 50 metros analyzed, less than 10% of single-family rentals are affordable for teachers at their current rent burdens. 

Nurses, who are similarly limited in their ability to work remotely, face similar disparities in the type and number of rentals they afford. Nationwide, nurses typically pay 18.5% of their income on rent. To afford the nation’s typical rental unit (priced at $1,874/month as of August) without increasing their rent burden, they would need a $1,389 per month raise. Instead, like teachers, they are finding smaller, older rentals. 

In both Seattle and Denver, where the local minimum wage is significantly higher than the national baseline, retail workers can afford around 15%-16% of available rentals without exceeding their current rent burdens. And in Denver, food service workers can afford 11.7% of available rentals. But these workers are still only able to afford smaller, older rental units — and are likely living with several roommates and/or higher-paid roommates or partners: In both markets, food service and retail workers only earn between 37%-43% of their typical total household income. 

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