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Maryland is among the most-challenging states for minimum wage workers to earn enough to be able to afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment, suggesting that affordable housing is 鈥渙ut of reach鈥� for many low-wage renters.
That鈥檚 the conclusion of the 鈥溾�� report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a housing research organization, which shows that Maryland is only behind seven states and Washington, D.C., in the 2024 ranking.
With renters making up a third of Maryland households, the lack of affordable housing has been at the forefront of many legislative discussions. Lawmakers and state officials have try to make Maryland a more renter-friendly state. But advocates say more should be done.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to need sustained attention to this through multiple lenses,鈥� said Claudia Randall Wilson, executive director of the Community Development Network of Maryland, noting that affordable housing impacts other societal challenges.
鈥淪o when we鈥檙e talking about improving the health of Marylanders, when we鈥檙e talking about the longevity economy and seniors and where they鈥檙e going to live 鈥� we鈥檝e got to be thinking about housing,鈥� she said.
But housing groups argue that they face 鈥渦navoidable costs鈥� that lead to increasing housing costs.
鈥淭hose costs could come from a number of things,鈥� said Aaron Greenfield, director of government affairs for the housing association for the Maryland Multi-Housing Association.
鈥淭he land, the simple foundation and framing costs, HVAC systems,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then on top of that, for an apartment community to operate 鈥� maintenance and payroll and property taxes and insurance costs, which have gone up significantly over the last few years 鈥� which, ultimately, are passed on to the residents, unfortunately.鈥�
The Community Development Network of Maryland partners with the NLIHC to help produce the report.
The report uses a metric called the 鈥渉ousing wage鈥� to describe how much a worker would have to earn per hour in order to afford a rental home of a particular size at the fair market rent 鈥� or how many hours a week they would need to work at minimum wage to do so. To be affordable, the costs for housing and utilities must not exceed 30% of household income.
California, the least affordable state in the ranking, requires $47.38 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment, while North Dakota comes in last with just $18.38 an hour needed.
A two bed-room housing wage in Maryland is $36.70, or $76,345 a year. For just one bedroom the housing wage is $30.93, or $64,330 a year.
That鈥檚 well above the state鈥檚 current minimum wage of $15 an hour, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The report notes that a minimum wage worker in Maryland would need to work 82 hours a week in order to afford a one-bedroom apartment.
The report said some of the state鈥檚 most common occupations do not have wages high enough to afford a one-bedroom apartment, such as janitors, home health and personal care aides, cooks, nursing assistants, security guards, secretaries and administrative assistants, construction workers and truck drivers.
鈥淚 think that those folks deserve to live with dignity in a place that they can do so,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy, with a middle-class lens, to think, 鈥極h well, they could have roommates and we shouldn鈥檛 be expecting those folks to have their own two-bedroom apartment.鈥� The greatest need is 鈥� families with children.鈥�
Housing affordability was an issue at the forefront of the 2024 legislative session, when Gov. Wes Moore (D) pushed a housing package to increase the supply of affordable housing options in the state, which faces a housing shortage of an estimated 96,000 units.
Some of the housing legislation intends to incentivize聽 the development of new affordable housing units across the state. But just one of those bills has taken effect so far, meaning that any potential impact from new affordable housing developments as a result of the legislation are a ways off.
Wilson agrees that development is an avenue to improve the number of affordable housing options for Marylanders, but said the General Assembly will need to have 鈥渟ustained attention鈥� on affordable housing down the line.
鈥淭his is not going to be a one-year thing or two-year thing. We鈥檙e going to need sustained attention on housing,鈥� she said.
Greenfield said the Multi-housing Association is also concerned with whether Marylanders can afford to rent.
鈥淭he reality is we鈥檙e in the business of housing people. We want people to have housing,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we also want to make sure they get paid for that housing. To the degree that Maryland can lift up these lower-wage workers is a benefit for everyone 鈥� it鈥檚 better for our entire economy.鈥�
