Rent is out of control for some poor New Yorkers and if you are making minimum wage, odds are you aren't living alone, according to a recent report by Street Easy. And living alone will cost you.
To be on your own in the Big Apple you would need to make $38.80 an hour, a substantial leap from the current $8.75 minimum wage, in order to afford the city's median asking rent of $2,690 a month. This leaves the city's working class residents with three options: live with multiple roommates, work several jobs or leave the city altogether.
"This study speaks to the reality for thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers like myself who simply can't afford to live in the city we work in," Jackson Heights resident, Aracely Lima, said in a statement. "Those who say $15 an hour is too high should be ashamed of themselves."
According to AM New York, Manhattan is the most costly borough, requiring renters to make $44 an hour, followed by Brooklyn ($35.87), Queens ($29.67), Staten Island ($26.21) and the Bronx ($21.26).
A campaign has been implemented to raise the minimum wage bar in NYC to $15 an hour but, as you can see, not even that will make a dent. What's a New Yorker to do?
