Nevada renters need to earn $18.24 hourly to live comfortably

While minimum-wage employees are fighting for $9 or $15 wages, Nevada renters need to earn a lot more to live comfortably in a valley apartment, according to a recent report.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia offer a minimum wage higher than the federal standard of $7.25, including Nevada at $8.25 — when that doesn’t include benefits.

The report, from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, shows the rate needed to to live alone comfortably in two-bedroom housing. In Nevada, $18.24 an hour is needed, almost $10 above Nevada’s minimum wage.

The highest listed amount was $28.04 in Washington, D.C., and the lowest was $12.95 in Arkansas.

The report defines the “housing wage” as a wage a single renter needs to earn “in order to afford a rental unit at the fair market price for a particular unit size.” Affordability is counted when rent and utilities aren’t exceeding 30 percent of the total household income.

The report said Nevadans working a job at $8.25 per hour would need to work 71 hours per week “to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment at fair market rent,” which they state is about $760 per month. They peg a two-bedroom at about $950.

Forty-three percent of Nevada residents are renters, the report states.

While many jobs in Las Vegas, from bussers to servers to fast food to customer service, fall in the minimum or just-above range of pay, many do offer the “housing wage.”

Eighteen dollars per hour at a full-time job adds up to about $34,500 in one year before taxes. Off-Strip restaurant manager positions, as well as low-level medical professions and higher education positions, will usually show up in that range on job-hunting sites like Monster and CareerBuilder.

Low- or entree-level hospitality industry jobs also come up in the same search.

Teaching jobs in Clark County District hold an average pay of $48,625 per year, according to GlassDoor. Zappos’ intern and customer service jobs are listed in the $17 - $19 per hour range. Front desk jobs on the Strip average about the same.

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva