December 12, 2011 | 9:00 AM | By

Where the 99 Percent Can Afford to Live

The D.C. region may be one of the country’s most prosperous areas at the moment, but unless you’re a skilled professional with a job, housing costs are out of your reach. The Urban Institute examines which cities are most affordable for the “99 percent” to live, with the Oklahoma City metro area coming out on top.


If you live in the DC metro, you need to earn about $60,000 to afford the rent for a typical (modest) two-bedroom apartment. Average earnings just barely exceed that threshold. If you’re a computer professional, you probably earn much more (over $90,000 on average), but if you’re a personal service worker, you may only earn half of what you need to afford that apartment. Disparities are equally stark in San Francisco, but the unemployment rate there is almost 10 percent, compared to only 6 percent in the Washington region.

Read more at: blog.metrotrends.org

  • Anonymous

    Wait.  I need to make $60K to afford to rent a 2BR?  Please, where is this 2BR you speak of? I’m paying $1500 currently for my 1BR off U St.  I suppose I could live in Ft Totten, but I don’t want to.  Me thinks that figure is low.