WCAX.com
Burlington, Vermont - April 16, 2009

A new report says Vermonters who rent their homes are paying some of the highest prices in the nation. The National Low Income Coalition and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition say the Green Mountain state is the fifteenth most expensive state in the nation for renters.

Vermont’s housing wage has risen to $17.57 per hour or over $36,000 a year. Housing wage is how much a family working 40 hours a week must earn to avoid spending more than 30 percent of their income on a two-bedroom apartment. The current wage has risen 53 percent since 2000.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Vermont is $914. But the average Vermonter earns $11.31 an hour or around $23,000 a year. That’s over $6 per hour less than what’s needed to afford the apartment.

Experts say the state’s low vacancy rates have pushed up rents and many Vermonters work in low-paying jobs.