Make more to live better in Philadelphia

There’s no arguing that Philadelphia apartments are easier to afford for some Philadelphians than others. The hourly wage that’s required to afford a decent place to live in Philly keeps going up, which means that we all have to keep getting raises to afford living here.

That’s easier said than done, as most employers don’t raise wages using the same “let’s maximize our profit” approach that apartment owners use to determine their rents. If you chuckled at the impossibility of that last statement, you’re not alone. Didn’t get an 8 percent raise at work this year? Yeah, neither did I..

A recently quoted study I read shared that in Philadelphia, an hourly wage of $20.67 (that works out to $43,000 a year). A two bedroom apartment renting for $1075 would be in the affordable price range for this income level. (The average rent of a two bedroom may actually be closer to $1300, according to other data sources.)

But the average annual salary in Philadelphia is $36,646, and the median income of households is Philadelphia is $32,573. Now, none of this means that the average Philadelphian can’t find a place to live, but that they are probably paying more of their income to rent than they should be, and may be stressed financially in other areas as a result.

The writing on the wall here is that rents are rising faster than wages, something that’s important to consider when making decisions about your goals, education, career and personal life plans. So be prepared to pay more for a great apartment in Philadelphia. There is, however, some good news – due to high demand for apartments here, new development is on the rise, and Center City will have 20 percent more apartments three years from now than it does today.

A close market analysis leads to the following prediction: in 2015, despite so many additional apartment units having arrived online, more of Philadelphia’s population will be paying a upwards of 30 percent for their housing. Why’s that? The trend toward urban living and preference for apartment renting is already upon us – and those new apartments will be filling up as soon as they’re available for lease.