New report shines light on wage needs and housing crisis in Maine

A new housing report reveals just how much you need to make to comfortably afford a modest two-bedroom rental in Maine.

That number sits at $28.42 an hour. It amounts to around $59,000 a year.

A new “Out of Reach 2025” report from the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition shows Maine ranks 26th in the country for highest housing wage needed for that two-bedroom.

According to the report, working a minimum wage job at $14.15 an hour, people must work 78 hours a week, which is nearly two full-time jobs, to afford a two-bedroom rental.

A minimum-wage earner can only afford $762 per month, but the two-bedroom fair market rent is $1,478, almost double what’s feasible.

Of Maine’s approximately 153,800 renter households, over 39,200 (26%) earn 30% or less of area median income (AMI), and 44% live at or below 50% AMI. Over 65% of extremely low-income renters face severe cost burdens, with just 47 affordable and available units per 100 households in that category, according to the report.

The coalition says these numbers reinforce a dire need for funding to build affordable homes statewide.